Mummy's Wrap

Attributed to Thebes
New Kingdom (1535-1070 BC)
Bronze
Mirror face: height approximately 9 cm, width approximately 14 cm, thickness approximately 0.3 cm. Handle: length approximately 7 cm, radius approximately 1 cm.
1990.1.2
Gift of the Barry B. Brooks Estate

The polished thin oblong disk of this mirror appears to possibly be blooming from the papyrus-shape of the top of the handle. The mirror, or ankh in the ancient Egyptian language, refers, not only to life, but to mirrors, as well, whose shape is similar to that of the ankh symbol (D’Auria, Lacovara, and Roehrig, 1988, p. 157). Flanking the mirror’s face on either side are two outfacing falcons. Each of the falcons sports details of the wings, the eyes and beaks. The righthand falcon also appears to have been damaged, sustaining a crack in the tail, possibly running to the legs and feet. The falcons sport some use-ware around the heads and the bodies, though the legs appear untouched. This ware is not as heavy as on the handle proper. Running most of the length of the handle from the mirror’s face to the butt of the handle are simple patterns, one appearing to be a gentle zigzag pattern associated with water, the other looks to be woven or braided, perhaps recalling reed matting. The handle is slightly worn from use over its entire length, but in good condition, with what appears to be a dent or a flaw retained from manufacture at the base of the handle and to the right. The mirror face is still in quite smooth condition, though there appears to be blemishes obscuring the reflection. Narrow polish streaks are visible on the mirror, running in a diagonal manner from the bottom right to the top left of the mirror.

It appears as though the mirror was constructed in two parts, probably cast in molds. The mirror face was cast with a tang at the bottom. The handle was cast in a similar fashion with the falcons attached and a space for the mirror face to attach. During post production all the flash around the edges of the falcons and the handle was removed. Likewise, no flash was visible on the edge of the mirror face.

Works Cited
D’Auria, S., Lacovara, P., and Roehrig, C. (1988). Mummies & Magic: The Funerary Arts of Ancient Egypt, Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Be the first to like.

Like

Unlike

© 2010, Page Strong. All rights reserved.

That's a Wrap!

Tags: ankh, art museum at university of memphis, bronze, falcon, falcons, mirror, new kingdom, Papyrus, university of memphis, university of memphis egyptology, university of memphis egyptology class, university of memphis egyptology course

This entry was posted by Page Strong on Wednesday, October 27th, 2010 at 09:30 and is filed under Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Egyptology, Every Day Life, Everyday Life, life, Museum Studies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.