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Raptor mummy

A raptor mummy in a teardrop shape with four meander coffers running centrally. The verso has no final tidy bandage, thus the many spiral bandages and threads used to create the mummy are visible. The inner layer is made of textile strips, probably impregnated with embalming agents, which are covered with another piece of fabric held by a thread. The edges are bolstered by multiple layers of folded perimeter bandages, gathered at the tip of the teardrop.
The CT scans show that this package contains two birds, neither of which has a head. One bird is bigger than the other, but both seem to be adult raptors, most probably Lanner falcons (Falco biarmicus). Both animals are in a standard position with the wings gathered along the body and the legs flexed at the knee. The package is larger than the birds, presumably to make it look more impressive and costly.

Suppl. 11030
Organic animal+plant fiber / Linen
28.5 cm x 10.3 cm
300 BCE – 300 CE
Ptolemaic Period – Roman Period
Asyut
Excavation Ernesto Schiaparelli, 1910
Museum / Floor 1 / Room 11 / Showcase 06
  • Borla, Matilde, “Mummie e animali del Museo Egizio di Torino: problemi di conservazione di manufatti polimaterici”, in XIII Congresso Nazionale IGIIC: Lo Stato dell'Arte 13 [...] Centro Conservazione e Restauro della Venaria Reale - Torino 22/24 ottobre 2015, 2015, pp. 153 – 160.
    Tipo=Atti di congressi SottoTipo= Autore=Borla, Matilde Titolo=Mummie e animali del Museo Egizio di Torino: problemi di conservazione di manufatti polimaterici Sottotiolo= In=XIII Congresso Nazionale IGIIC: Lo Stato dell'Arte 13 [...] Centro Conservazione e Restauro della Venaria Reale - Torino 22/24 ottobre 2015 Collana= Opera= Luogo= Anno=2015 Menzionato=pp. 153 - 160 Illustrazione=
Museo Egizio