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This mummy case is made of cartonnage, a material similar to papier-mâché, but using layers of linen rather than paper. Cartonnage mummy cases such as these are contemporary with funerary portraits painted on wood or linen, although they present a very different appearance. The face, modeled in plaster, is bland and idealized, although the effect of the gilding and glass inlays is quite dazzling. The body is painted with traditional, age-old funerary motifs: the god Osiris, seated and mummiform; the fetish of Abydos, holy city of Osiris, flanked by standing deities (Thoth and Shu); a Horus falcon with outspread wings, and the bark of Sokar. Below these are the sandaled feet of the deceased. On the sides are rows of seated deities. On the top of the head are a winged scarab beetle flanked by Anubis jackals. On the foot are painted the soles of the deceased’s sandals, flanked by scorpions for protection.

Page data

Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
dd716fe0ef62c189
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
94191
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "94191",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Cartonnage Mummy Case",
    "description": "This mummy case is made of cartonnage, a material similar to papier-mâché, but using layers of linen rather than paper. Cartonnage mummy cases such as these are contemporary with funerary portraits painted on wood or linen, although they present a very different appearance. The face, modeled in plaster, is bland and idealized, although the effect of the gilding and glass inlays is quite dazzling. The body is painted with traditional, age-old funerary motifs: the god Osiris, seated and mummiform; the fetish of Abydos, holy city of Osiris, flanked by standing deities (Thoth and Shu); a Horus falcon with outspread wings, and the bark of Sokar. Below these are the sandaled feet of the deceased. On the sides are rows of seated deities. On the top of the head are a winged scarab beetle flanked by Anubis jackals. On the foot are painted the soles of the deceased’s sandals, flanked by scorpions for protection.",
    "date": "c. 50 BCE–50 CE",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1914.715",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60756044"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Funerary Equipment"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1914.715/1914.715_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1914.715/1914.715_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1914.715/1914.715_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 20.5 x 57 cm (8 1/16 x 22 7/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BCE)–Roman empire (30 BCE–395 CE)"
    ],
    "accession": "1914.715"
}

Context sent to Scholar

Document identity
{
    "localId": "94191",
    "label": "Cartonnage Mummy Case",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "94191",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Cartonnage Mummy Case",
    "description": "This mummy case is made of cartonnage, a material similar to papier-mâché, but using layers of linen rather than paper. Cartonnage mummy cases such as these are contemporary with funerary portraits painted on wood or linen, although they present a very different appearance. The face, modeled in plaster, is bland and idealized, although the effect of the gilding and glass inlays is quite dazzling. The body is painted with traditional, age-old funerary motifs: the god Osiris, seated and mummiform; the fetish of Abydos, holy city of Osiris, flanked by standing deities (Thoth and Shu); a Horus falcon with outspread wings, and the bark of Sokar. Below these are the sandaled feet of the deceased. On the sides are rows of seated deities. On the top of the head are a winged scarab beetle flanked by Anubis jackals. On the foot are painted the soles of the deceased’s sandals, flanked by scorpions for protection.",
    "date": "c. 50 BCE–50 CE",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1914.715",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60756044"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Funerary Equipment"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1914.715/1914.715_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1914.715/1914.715_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1914.715/1914.715_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 20.5 x 57 cm (8 1/16 x 22 7/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BCE)–Roman empire (30 BCE–395 CE)"
    ],
    "accession": "1914.715"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "cartonnage, painted and gilded, with glass inlays",
    "tombstone": "Cartonnage Mummy Case , c. 50 BCE–50 CE. Egypt, Greco-Roman period (332 BCE–395 CE), Ptolemaic dynasty (305–30 BCE)–Roman empire (30 BCE–395 CE). Cartonnage, painted and gilded, with glass inlays; overall: 20.5 x 57 cm (8 1/16 x 22 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, 1914.715",
    "collection": "Egypt - Ptolemaic Dynasty",
    "formerAccessionNumbers": [
        "354.14"
    ],
    "didYouKnow": "This coffin is smaller and later in date than the other coffins in this gallery. It is made of cartonnage, which used layers of linen to create a material similar to papier-mâché. The painted portrait head displays the influence of Roman portraiture at this time and incorporates both gilding and glass inlays. Despite the fragile materials, this mummy case survived due to the very dry desert climate in which it was found.",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Grimm, Günter. <em>Die Römischen Mumienmasken aus Ägypten.</em> Wiesbaden: F. Steiner, 1974.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned: P. 100, 116; Reproduced: Taf. 115.1"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač.<em> Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: p. 503-5; Mentioned: p. 504-5"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Riggs, Christina. <em>The Beautiful Burial in Roman Egypt: Art, Identity, and Funerary Religion</em>. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned and reproduced: P. 49-52, fig. 13, 14, 15"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1914.715",
    "creditline": "Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 05:00:50.252000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1914.715/1914.715_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 94191,
    "dept": "Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art",
    "coll": "Egypt - Ptolemaic Dynasty",
    "med": "cartonnage, painted and gilded, with glass inlays",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1914.715/1914.715_web.jpg",
    "mediaId": "dd716fe0ef62c189"
}