| British Museum
Gallery |
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The British Museum contains many wonderful
exhibits, and it would take days of wandering around to look
at everything in detail. In some ways the vast amount of material
on display can take away some of the wonder from the individual
objects.
This is the coffin of a Pharaoh called Intef.
The small selection included on these pages gives an indication
of what is on display.
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In view of the great age of the objects on display many show
signs of damage, either accidental or deliberate. It was common
practice for Pharaoh's to usurp the monuments of their
predecessors, or to destroy them. The statues and monuments of
the Amarna Pharaoh's were treated
particularly harshly, As were those of Queen Hatshepsut , particularly
by her successor Tuthmosis III |
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| Because many burial sites were removed entirely
and brought to the British Museum, the funerary equipment on
display goes beyond the usual cartonage mummy boards and mummiform
outer coffins. This photograph shows the anthropoid inner coffin
still contained in its elaborately carved outer coffin. |
Amongst the statues and columns in the lower
gallery there are several Sarcophagi and sarcophagus lids. Many
of these are elaborately carved and some even show signs of re-use.
One example originally for a middle kingdom woman has later been
reused with the inscriptions altered accordingly. |
| The British Museum has a vast selection of Shabti figures and faience objects on display.
This Shabti is particularly interesting as it was obviously part
of some undertakers stock of funeral goods. |
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The spaces for the name of the deceased have
been left blank when the figure was made and would have been
filled in when the figure was needed. |
| Another well known set of objects in the museum are the figures
of the four sons of the god Horus. These
acted as the guardians of the internal organs when the body was
mummified. |
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