Mummy of the 'embroiderer'

The mummy of the 'embroiderer' was discovered during the excavations of Albert Gayet at Antinoe in 1899-1900. Its modern nickname derives from the amount of embroidery in the burial equipment of the tomb. The remains of the woman have not been mummified; the body was totally dried out in the hot sand. She wears three dresses one over the other, which are decorated with heart-shaped designs. On top of her head are a cap and a roll of polychrome wool representing flowers. Over her shoulders is a shawl decorated with floral and bird motifs. Her head and feet rest on embroidered cushions.

Present location	KMKG - MRAH [07/003] BRUSSELS
Inventory number	E.1045
Dating	ROMAN PERIOD
Archaeological Site	EL-SHEIKH `ABADA/ANTINOOPOLIS
Category	HUMAN MUMMY
Material	FLAX; BONE; WOOL; HAIR
Technique	WORKED; WOVEN

Bibliography

• M.-P. Vanlathem, Oudegyptische lijkkisten en mummies - Cercueils et momies de l'Égypte ancienne, Bruxelles 1983, 26-27
• K. Otavsky, Alte Gewebe und ihre Geschichte, Riggisberg 1987, 98-99, Fig. 66
• F. Lefebvre et B. Van Rinsveld, L'Égypte. Des Pharaons aux Coptes, Bruxelles 1990, 199
• F. Dunand et R. Lichtenberg, Les momies. Un voyage dans l'éternité., Paris 1991, 37
• M. Raven, Mummies onder het mes, Amsterdam 1993, 112, 117 (fig. 20)
• M. Rassart-Debergh, Icônes d'Antinoé, CdÉ 68 (1993) 317 - 318
• U. Horak, Koptische "Mumien", Biblos. Beiträge zu Buch, Bibliothek und Schrift., 44, 1 (1995) 49-50

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