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THE MUMMIES:
FROM EGYPT TO TOLEDO
Ancient Eg5pt has fascinated the people of the Western
world since the ancient Greeks, but "Egytrltomanid'hit a
cultural climur at two key points: Napoleon's exploration
of Eglpt at the turn ofthe 19th century and the opening
of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. These two events
helped to propel ancient Egyptian culture into the
Western imagination-where it remains today-through
appropriation of iconography and imagery associated
with Eglptian gods, kings, and mummies This exhibition
poses the question: How has Eglrptomania impacted
how we look at ancient Egyptian culture?
The enduring fascination with ancient Eglrpt is embedded
in the early history of the Toledo Museum of Art. Among
the earliest additions to the Museum's collection are two
human mummies and hundreds of objects acquired by TMA
co-founders and benefactors Edward Drummond Libbey
and Florence Scott Libbey when they traveled to Eglnpt
in 1906. The two mummies, one of a young priest and the
other of an old man, form the hearb ofthis exhibition, which
considers mummies in the context of Eglrptomania while
also examiningtheir original role within ancient Eglrptian
religious beliefs.
As you explore this exhibition, think about your own
perceptions of ancient Egypt and how they've been
influenced by Eg4lt's portrayal in popular culture.
THE MUMMIES: FR0M EGYPT T0 T(lLEIl() | Exhibition Guide
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AB0VE The Libbeys in Gizo, 19o6. T[lP RIGHT Cover of the
lgoi exhibition guide for the unveiling of the treosures
the Libbeys brought back from Egypt. B0TT0M RIGHT Egypt,
from Akhmim. Third lntermediote Period, Dynosty zz
@qS-ltz BCE), Cortonnoge of Ankh-tesh. Cortonnoge
(linen, glue, ond ploster with point), about 8oo BCE. Gift
of Edword Drummond Libbey, tgo6.q
THE LIBBEYS AND EGYPT
When Toledo Museum founders Edward Drummond Libbey
and Florence Scott Libbey visited Egyrpt in early 1906, they
purchased 239 ancient Egyptian artifacts and works of art-
includingMummyof an OldMan and Mummyof aYoung
Priest-for the fledgling museum, founded only five years
earlier. Back home, Mr. and Mrs. Libbey had two rooms built
onto the small, original museum building at the corner of
Madison and 13th Streets to display their new acquisitions.
Fascinated by historical objects from so far away and long
&go, people flocked to visit and have been coming to see the
mummies and the Eglnptian art ever since.
1
EGYPTOMANIA:
FROM NAPOLEON'S
INVASION TO THE
EARLY 2OTH CENTURY
Ancient Eg[rytian culture dates back more than
5,000 years, but modern cultural appropriation of
this societybegins in earnest with French Emperor
Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1795. Employing
approximately 2,000 artists and technicians,
Napoleon's forces documented all aspects of Eg5rpt,
from flora and faunato ancient tombs, temples, and
sculpture fragrnents. The subsequent publication of
the seminal tom e Ddscription d,e I'Eg7ptebegnning
in 1809 marks the first time that ancient Eglrptian
imagery was published and distributed throughout
western Europe.
"i. THE MUMMIES: FR0M EGYPT T0 T(lIEDtl I Exhibition Guide
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by Edgar Allan Poe in rB5o, tells of the mummy
of an ancient Egyptian named Allamistakeo
who comes back to life to berate the group of
scientists and amateur Egyptologists intent on
dissecting him. It adds to the mummy mythology
by suggesting that mummification acted as a
kind of suspended animation, allowing embalmed
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Egyptians to be revived thousands of years later.
tEFT Louis Legrand (French, r863-195r), Quinze
histories d'Edgor Pod (Fifteen Stories by Edgor [Allon]
Poe). Book with oquotints, t897. Gift of Molly ond
Wolter Bo reiss, 1984.674
products also took advantage of Egyptomania,
making their own marketing connections to
ancient Egypt. Companies like Palmolive were ffi
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quick to make associations between their
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products and what little was understood by most
people about ancient Egyptian religious beliefs. I TL"I
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RIGHT Polmolive Shompoo. Advertisement ,IF
f rom Lodies Home Journol, tgt1. Lent from the
B ri e r- Re m I e r Col le cti o n 6\
ffiffi at this time and into the late l8oos was reflected
in upper class society through jewelry, clothing,
cosmetics, and architecture based on objects
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and motifs like those documented in Ddscription
de l'Egypte and exhibited at the Metropolitan
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Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine
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Arts in Boston, and the Oriental lnstitute at the
University of Chicago.
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LEFT Fronce (Poris), Pointings Drawn from Mummy
Cortonnoges, from Description de l'Egypte. Engroving,
tSog-zg. Lent from the Brier-Remler Collection
3
EGYPTOMANIA:
FROM THE OPENING OF
KI NG TUT'S TOMB TO TODAY
The nature of Egyptomaniatransitions from one of romantic
nostalgia to moribund mystery with the opening of King
Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922by British archaeologist
Howard Carter. No pharaoh's tomb had been found as fully
intact as that of the young king. Word of the tomb discovery
quickly spread as teams of photographers and reporters
waited outside while dazzling objects were brought out.
Toledo Museum ofArt co-founders the Libbeys returned
to Egypt in L924to visit the sites of Carter's excavations
in Amarna. The extraordinary findings prompted another
form of Egyptomania: Tutmania, with aII things mummy
being desired.
Since the mysterious deaths associated with the tomb's
discovery- dubbed the "Curse of the Pharaoh" - ancient E grpt,
and more specifically mummies, have been personified as
icons of horror and camp in popular culture. From magic
acts like George the Supreme Master of Magic to movies,
notably Boris Karloff's The MumrnA (released in 1932)
and Hammer Studio's The MumrnA (1959), our societal
(mis)understanding of ancient Egypt still resides in the
realm of the exotic and the fantastical. It is through this
popular culture lens that we frequently see ancient Eglrpt
and mummies. Mummies are sometimes perceived more
as objects of curiosity-even fear-than as human remains
carefully prepared in religious rites.
THE MUMMIES: FR0M EGYPT T0 T(lIED(l I Exhibition Guide
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These small mechanical pencils
and fountain pens in the shapes
of ancient Egyptian coffins could
be worn as a pendant on a
necklace when not in use as
a writing utensil.
AB0VE Mechonicol Pencils ond
Fountoin Pins in the Shope of
Mummy Coses, 1g2os. Lent from
the Brier-Remler Collection
A
Jewelers at the turn of the 2oth centu ry and later
capitalized on the rise of Egyptomania. One of the
more popular icons in Egyptian-themed jewelry
was the scarab beetle, a symbol of protection in
ancient Egypt.
AB0VE Brocelet with Scarqb. Silver with enomeling, 1g2os.
Lent f rom the Brier-Remler Collection
5
EGYPT AND
THE AFTERLIFE
Marry ofthe Eglrptian art and objects familiar to us today were
discovered in tombs. Tombs were designed to successfully
transition one from'this'world to the afterlife. Ancient
Egyptians believed that death began ajourney to the afterlife
where all the necessities oftheir former lives, includingtheir
bodies, would be essential to eternal survival.
{ ttre story of the god Osiris and his resurrection became
key to the idea of life continuing in another sphere after
death. According to one version of the myth, Osiris was
murdered by his jealous brother Seth, who drowned him
and then cut his body into pieces and scattered them
up and down the Nile. His sister and wife, lsis, gathered
the pieces of her husband and with the help of her sister
Nepthys, Anubis (god of embalming), and Thoth (god of
writing and magic) bandaged them together for burial
to become the first mummy. Using magic, lsis revived
Osiris's body and was able to conceive a son, Horus,
the god identified with every ruler of Egypt. Osiris then
descended to rule as king of the dead and god of rebirth
and eternal life.
T0P Egypt, Lote Period (Zrz-SSz BCE), Figure of Osiris. Bronze,
solid cost, obout 6oo-4oo BCE. Gift of Edword Drummond
I Libbey, t9o6.ttt
-v BOITOM Egypt, Lote Period, Dynosty zS (nz-66q BCE), /sis
ts ls ond Horus. lvory with Egyption blue inlays ond troces of gilding,
Hoeug
^rro obout 6So BCE. Orion Fund, 2011.14
THE MUMMIES: FR0M EGYPT T0 I(lIED(l I Exhibition Guide
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to be a woman because it came to the Museum in the
coffin of a woman named Ta-mit. The mummy's pose,
however-arms crossed on the chest-is a position known
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conducted in tgg8 confirmed that it is the body of a young
adult male, likely about 20 years old. Radiocarbon dating
determined that the young man died about Boo BCE.
There is no evidence of cause of death. He was almost
certainly a priest, because his head and body were
completely shaved for ritual purification.
LEFT Egypt, Third lntermediote Period, Dynosty zz
@qS-lrz BCE), Mummy of o Young Priest. Gift of
Edword Drummond Libbey, tgo6.tc
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A The intricate square pattern of the linen wrapping dates this
mummy to 5o-15o CE, when Egypt was part of the Roman
Empire. He was 45 to 55 when he died, about the average life
expectancy for his time. ln addition to many missing teeth,
bone loss in his jaws reveals severe gum disease and infection.
One of his vertebrae is compressed as a result of fracture
and the hip joint space has decreased in height. These details
reveal a life of heavy labor, probably accompanied by severe,
unremitting pain.
AB0VE Egypt, Romon Period (So BCE sgS CE), Mummy of
on Old Mqn. Gift of Edword Drummond Libbey, tgo6.zc
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AB0VE Children viewing Mummy of on Old Mon ot the Toledo Museum of Art, circo lglos.
THE ETHICS OF
EXHIBITING MUMMIES
ln the early 2oth century, when Mr. and Mrs. Libbey purchased
Mummy of an Old Man and Mummy of a Young Priest and donated
them to the Toledo Museum of Art, it was common to exhibit mummies
as scientific and cultural curiosities. ln recent decades, there has been
world-wide dialogue about respect for national cultural patrimonies
and reverent treatment of the remains of the dead, whether ancient
mummies or more recent burials of indigenous peoples. ln addition,
the display of human remains in an art museum prompts its own
q uestions of a ppropriateness.
However, the Toledo Museum of Art is responsible for the two mummies
and continually monitors their condition in specially built, climate-
controlled cases. Since 1gg7, they have only been exhibited as part
of exhibitions in which they have been displayed respectfully, treated
with dignity, and placed in the context of the ancient Egyptian
preparation for the afterlife.
We hope this exhibition has raised questions about these issues
for our visitors and has inspired examination of preconceived notions
and myths about the people and culture of ancient Egypt.
THE MUMMIES: FR0M EGYPT T0 ItlIED(l I Exhibition Guide
