Mummy of the 'embroiderer'

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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