This is not a sarcophagus, it is actually called a cartonnage, meaning the mummy is covered with layers of plaster and then painted. (Therefore she is sealed inside and cannot be removed or opened.) This cartonnage mummy is a woman by the name of Djed-maat-es-ankh and she now resides at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada. She was likely an ordinary middle-class woman or even a musician had lived in Luxor in the 9th century BC (22nd Dynasty during the 3rd Intermediate Period) and died of a dental issue. She is one of the best-preserved examples from her timeperiod, although it is rumored a mummy in the Art Institute of Chicago named Paankhemamun might be her husband. I find it fascinating that Egyptians preserved their bodies so well, and have traveled so far past the time and place they were familiar with.
Museum Monday is an every other week series about museum news, objects, and review
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