Mummy and Painted Cartonnage of an Unknown Woman Essay

Mummy and Painted Cartonnage of an Unknown Woman - Essay Example This can be revealed through the decorative funerary rituals that were done during the time. These practices reveal the fascination and the obsession of the people on immortality. One way through which this can be revealed is through the mummifications and decorations that could be found in museums. One of these beliefs and customs are revealed through the mummy and painted Cartonnage of unknown woman The mummy and painted Cartonnage of unknown woman looking upwards is made up of decorated layers of linen and plaster (The Walters Museum par 1). These are made into a shape of a woman. However, the woman is not known. It was believed that the mummy would sustain the life of the dead woman when it comes back. The mummification contains decorations all over. The mummy also contains a decoration of floral wreath on the wig, a winged scarab beetle and a broad collar (The Walters Museum par 1). The mummy also has decorations that include four men who are standing facing one direction. The f our men represent the four sons of Horus. According to the Egyptian culture, the four sons of Horus are associated with protection. They offer security from any threat. This further reveals the fact that the ancient Egyptians believed on immortality of the soul. This is revealed by the act of providing protection for the dead; in this case who are represented through a mummy. The decorations also include the boat of the funerary deity Sokar. This boat was a sacred one. The sacred boats are very significant to the ancient Egyptian culture. They were usually used when the gods were brought out from their sanctuaries where they processed before the public. The decorations on the mummy of the unknown woman also include a mummy of Osiris who is lying on a funerary bed. This reveals the importance of the god to the dead people. The God of Osiris was important for the protection of the dead. The mummy also contains a decoration of a divine falcon god. The falcon god is among the most impor tant gods of the Ancient Egypt. The divine falcon god is considered as the divine personification of the kinship of Egypt (Nicholson and Shaw 156). The god was also a representation of the god of heavens. In the ancient Egyptian culture, Horus relates to the Egyptian divine kingship. It was representation of the last king who has ever ruled in Egypt. Since the living king was Horus, when he died the new king would usually become the new image of Horus and the dead king would become Osiris (Nicholson and Shaw 185). The decoration on the mummy and painted Cartonnage of unknown woman also contains a short hieroglyphic text, which contains an offering formula. The burial customs that were observed in the ancient Egypt were meant to ensure immortality after death. All the rituals performed were believed to contribute to the immortality of humanity. This was the main reason why they preserved the bodies through mummification. In addition, the dead would be accompanied with the things the deceased would need afterlife. The mummification process usually took a period of 70 days. The internal organs were usually removed from the body after which the body was desiccated using a special kind of salts. The body could then be tied with linen. The latest mummies were also kept inside painted Cartonnage mummy cases. Therefore, the mummy of an unknown woman is more recent since it was made using the latest mummification technology that was used then. According to the ancient Eg