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Egyptian Artifacts

Late Period Mummy Mask

I love mummy masks 𓅱𓇋𓀾π“ͺ! Funerary Masks (also called Burial Masks or Mummy Masks) were an important part of a person’s burial equipment π“ˆŽπ“‚‹π“‹΄π“π“π“Š­ because the mask 𓅱𓇋𓀾 could either serve as protection π“…“π“‚π“Ž‘π“€œ for the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱, or take the place of the body if the head was destroyed or lost. In the Egyptian religion, the body of the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 needed to stay intact in order for the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 to be transported to the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐. This was the purpose of mummification π“‹΄π“‚§π“π“…±π“Ž – the mask 𓅱𓇋𓀾 just served as extra protection π“…“π“‚π“Ž‘π“€œ!Β 

Late Period Mummy Mask
Me at the Brooklyn Museum with a Late Period Mummy Mask

This mask 𓅱𓇋𓀾 of a woman π“Šƒπ“π“‚‘π“π“ is dated to the Late Period (1st Century B.C.E). This mask 𓅱𓇋𓀾 is made of cartonnage, which was a very popular type of material to use because it was easy to work with and the mask 𓅱𓇋𓀾 could be made relatively quickly. The colors on this mask 𓅱𓇋𓀾 are so bright and well preserved – especially on the broad collar π“…±π“‹΄π“π“ŽΊπ“‹. I love how the Egyptians π“†Žπ“π“€€π“π“ͺ used red π“‚§π“ˆ™π“‚‹π“…Ÿ and the blue/green 𓇅𓆓𓏛 color together π“ˆ–π“Š— a lot.

Late Period Mummy Mask
A beautiful example of a Late Period Mummy Mask at the Brooklyn Museum. The goddess Isis is on the left and her sister Nephthys is on the right.

The art on the wig shows the goddesses π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ (left) and Nephthys 𓉠𓏏𓆇(right). Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ and Nephthys 𓉠𓏏𓆇 were sisters and were both prominent funerary goddesses π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ who appeared a lot together π“ˆ–π“Š— on funerary objects such as masks and sarcophagi. 

You can easily tell Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ and Nephthys 𓉠𓏏𓆇 apart from each other in Egyptian art based off of the crowns that they are wearing. The crowns correspond to the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ that make up their names: Isis (π“Š¨π“π“₯) wears β€œπ“Š¨β€ as a crown while Nephthys (𓉠𓏏𓆇) wears β€œπ“‰ β€ as a crown! 

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