Mummy of Khnumhotep with mask and broad collar

Mummy of Khnumhotep with mask and broad collar

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This mummified body is still in the original linen wrappings and belongs to a man named Khnumhotep, who was an estate manager or steward during life. He bears a faience collar on his chest and a gold funerary mask on his head. The gold face mask, uraeus, and straight beard identify the deceased as a divine king. Through the mummy’s attributes and the coffin’s décor (see 12.182.131a, b), Khnumhotep’s body is transformed into an avatar of Osiris, king of the afterlife and god of resurrection.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mummy of Khnumhotep with mask and broad collarMummy of Khnumhotep with mask and broad collarMummy of Khnumhotep with mask and broad collarMummy of Khnumhotep with mask and broad collarMummy of Khnumhotep with mask and broad collar

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.