Linen Shroud thumbnail 1
Linen Shroud thumbnail 2
+18
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Not on display

This object consists of 2 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Linen Shroud

100-101 BC (made)
Place of origin
Egypt (made)
Thebes (found)

Painted linen shroud, Egypt, possibly Thebes, possibly 1st century BC

Object details

Category
Textiles
Object type
Linen shroud
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Mummy Cloth
  • Mummy Cloth
Brief description
Painted linen shroud, Egypt, possibly Thebes, possibly 1st century BC
Dimensions
  • Wooden board width: 1135mm (Maximum)
  • Wooden board length: 2352mm (Maximum)
  • Textile width: 1284mm (Minimum) (Note: Textile was folded under along proper right edge to fit it onto wooden board. Unpicked to allow to for accurate measurement to be taken. )
  • Textile length: 2338mm (Maximum)
Measured by conservation
Gallery label
(Early 20th century)
Portrait of a dead woman
From a burial site in Egypt; about 1st century AD
Painted linen funeral or mummy cloth

The identity of the woman is not recorded, but it is likely that she was of noble birth. On her head are the symbols of Hathor, worshipped as Goddess of the Dead. This period of the portrait mummy represents the last stage of the process of mummificiation, which, with the advent of Christianity, gave way to burial with the body dressed in everyday clothes.

Given by Robert Taylor
2177-1900
Credit line
Given by Robert Taylor
Object history
Object previously catalogued as 'mummy cloth'
Collection
Middle East Section
Accession number
2177-1900

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O315330/linen-shroud/
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