Life eternal
Journey along the Nile
Mummy covered in ‘cartonnage’
Nestled into its coffin and sarcophagus, a mummified body remains as physically intact as possible on its ‘journey’ to the land of the dead. To preserve the body, the organs are removed and the cavity filled with natron (salt). The body is then rubbed with ointments, resins and oils that allow it to dry out, and finally wrapped in up to 35 layers of thin strips of linen! Sometimes masks are placed over the mummy’s face made of papyrus or linen coated with plaster, or silver and gold for kings and queens.
It all begins with Osiris
Mummification is not only a way to preserve the body, it is also a re-enactment of the myth of the god Osiris. Jealous of his status as king, his brother Seth killed Osiris by locking him in a fancy box, a sort of sarcophagus before its time, and throwing him into the Nile. Osiris’ wife, Isis, managed to bring him back to life long enough to conceive an heir, Horus. With the help of Anubis, she then mummified her husband. Osiris is therefore the first mummy and served as a model for the embalming process. That is why Osiris, who became the god who reigns in the land of the dead and the one who presides over rebirth, is sometimes depicted as a mummy.