Gilded wax on a reconstructed body of ancient linen

Gilded wax on a reconstructed body of ancient linen

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A reconstructed body of ancient linen was created in the 1940s in order to display this mask and foot cover. Originally they belonged to a similarly shaped figure that was filled with grain, which is why such figures are called "corn mummies." They represent the god Osiris and, since the grain could sprout, they symbolized new life.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gilded wax on a reconstructed body of ancient linenGilded wax on a reconstructed body of ancient linenGilded wax on a reconstructed body of ancient linenGilded wax on a reconstructed body of ancient linenGilded wax on a reconstructed body of ancient linen

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.