Antiquities - ancient Egyptian large cartonnage fragments with a bizarre provenance

E44

Egyptian large cartonnage fragments with a bizarre provenance

Ł1900

Two large fragments from the back of a finely painted cartonnage sarcophagus. At the top is a depiction of the protective wings of Isis which would have folded over the head of the mummy. Below the wings is a Djed Pillar, representing strength and stability. Below this is a pair of recumbent jackals of Anubis (the symbols of the chief god of the underworld), each holding a crook, and facing towards a central papyrus column. The main portion of the decoration shows two large mummiform figures holding what appears to be folded linen bandages. The figure to the left has a human head and probably represents the god Imsety (protector of the liver), while the figure to the right appears to be the baboon-headed god Hapi (protector of the lungs). Both of these deities are usually associated with canopic jars but here they are depicted while helping in the embalming process of the mummy.

Egypt, Roman Period, 2ndor 3rd Century AD.

Cartonnage is made from plaster smoothed over papyrus or linen fragments (linen bandages in this case). Although damaged, both pieces are surprisingly sturdy and the pigments are well-preserved; if mounted in a large frame, these pieces would make a wonderful display.

Size: Upper part: 56 x 47 cms, lower part: 45 x 38 cms.

Provenance: These panels are part of a collection of Egyptian items with an utterly bizarre and enigmatic provenance:

One morning in the early 1990's a student was walking along a beach in Wales when he noticed some items in the sand which he had not seen before, upon investigation he uncovered several Egyptian items including these panels, also various vessels, the major part of another cartonnage mummy case and parts of a mummy. He recovered as much as he could find and placed the items in a cupboard in his house, seemingly unsure what to do with them or who to inform.

In 1994/5 his terrified girlfriend discovered the now-forgotten mummy in his home and called the police assuming that her boyfriend was a murderer. The police arrested the man and submitted the remains to a coroner's inquest at which it was established that they were indeed ancient and not the dismembered parts of a recent murder victim. It was decided that the strange location of the antiquities must have been the result of a shipwreck of unknown date and location, and no trace could be found of their loss in any records.

After the inquest the human remains were donated to Swansea Museum and the antiquities were returned to their finder.

The antiquities were subsequently sold (probably via Portobello Road antiques market) and passed into the collection of a private collector and amateur Egyptologist residing in the Brook Green area of West London. The story of the finding of the antiquities and the subsequent events were reported in 1995 by The Star newspaper, a copy of this article, entitled "I'm 'Armless" will be supplied with the panels (!)

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