The Mummy Chamber is organized by Edward Bleiberg, Curator of Egyptian Art, Brooklyn Museum. Resting on the pharaohs mummified shoulders, the ornate mask was made using two sheets of gold adorned with semi-precious stones and glass paste. The installation includes related objects, among them stelae, reliefs, gold earrings, amulets, ritual statuettes, coffins, and mummy boards. Perhaps one of the most famous artifacts to come out of King Tuts tomb, the death mask of Tutankhamun, is an incredible find. Also in the installation are canopic jars, used to store the vital organs of mummies, as well as several shabties, small figurines placed in tombs, each of which was assigned to work magically for the deceased in the afterlife.

On view are the mummy of the priest Thothirdes the mummy of Hor, encased in an elaborately painted cartonnage and a nearly twenty-five-foot-long Book of the Dead scroll. This installation of more than 170 objects from our world-famous holdings of ancient Egyptian material explores the complex rituals related to the practice of mummification and the Egyptian belief that the body must be preserved in order to ensure eternal life. NOTE: Our Ancient Egyptian Art galleries will be closed July 28–30 and August 4–6.

Gold mummy artifacts