Collection
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Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Cartonnage Funerary Assembly

305–30 B.C.E.

1 of 12

Object Label

In the Ptolemaic Period, separate cartonnage pieces replaced the full-body cartonnage covering such as the one used with the Mummy of the Priest, Hor nearby. Yet the same series of symbols were used, such as the scarab beetle (a symbol of rebirth), the Four Sons of Horus, Anubis, sun disks, and gold leaf (a reference to the gods, who were believed to have gold skin).

The lower part of the inscription shows a number of dots marking the place where the owner’s name would be filled in, indicating that such objects were mass-produced for the market. The use of gold in prefabricated funeral equipment suggests a large, wealthy population in Ptolemaic Egypt eager for such products.

Caption

Cartonnage Funerary Assembly, 305–30 B.C.E.. Cartonnage, pigment, gold leaf, Fragment a: 13 9/16 x 10 1/4 in. (34.5 x 26 cm) Fragment b: 9 1/16 x 14 3/4 in. (23 x 37.5 cm) Fragment c: 5 1/2 x 12 3/16 in. (14 x 31 cm) Fragment d: 5 5/8 x 13 3/4 in. (14.3 x 35 cm) Fragment e: 6 3/8 x 18 7/8 in. (16.2 x 48 cm) Fragment f: 6 15/16 x 9 1/16 in. (17.7 x 23 cm) 7 x 7 x 9 in. (17.8 x 17.8 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society, 12.911.2a-f. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.12.911.2a-f_mummychamber.jpg)

Title

Cartonnage Funerary Assembly

Date

305–30 B.C.E.

Period

Ptolemaic Period

Geography

Place found: Egypt, Place excavated: Abydos, Egypt

Medium

Cartonnage, pigment, gold leaf

Classification

Funerary Object

Dimensions

Fragment a: 13 9/16 x 10 1/4 in. (34.5 x 26 cm) Fragment b: 9 1/16 x 14 3/4 in. (23 x 37.5 cm) Fragment c: 5 1/2 x 12 3/16 in. (14 x 31 cm) Fragment d: 5 5/8 x 13 3/4 in. (14.3 x 35 cm) Fragment e: 6 3/8 x 18 7/8 in. (16.2 x 48 cm) Fragment f: 6 15/16 x 9 1/16 in. (17.7 x 23 cm) 7 x 7 x 9 in. (17.8 x 17.8 x 22.9 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society

Accession Number

12.911.2a-f

Rights

Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Frequent Art Questions

  • Question: where are the mummy bodies? I see the cases, but not the bodies.

    There are currently four mummies in the galleries: Thothrides, Hor, Gautseshenu, and the Anonymous Man. We have some in storage and there are also examples of coffins/cartonnages that have been separated from their mummies before coming to the museum.

  • Is this female?

    Without an inscription we can't be sure. Though women were often depicted as yellow or white, the gold skin here is actually meant to recreate the skin of the gods. Deceased individuals of either gender wished to be associated with the gods and to join the gods in the realm of the afterlife.

  • Who’s this lady?

    She could be one of several different deities, including Mut and Nut. Her arms are stretched out in a gesture of protection.

  • Is there anything written on these panels?

    There is no inscription to identify this individual, so we don't know who they were or if they were male or female. The series of dots on the lower part of the inscription are where a name would be filled in. Pieces of cartonnages like this were mass produced for the market during the Ptolemaic period!
    Cartonnages are made of linen or papyrus mixed with plaster, in a manner very similar to papier mache. A cartonnage would be placed inside a larger sacrophagi.
    The iconography on this cartonnage can also be seen on several others in our collection. The face is painted gold with gold leaf, a reference to the skin of the gods.

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