Stylistic Analysis of the Cartonnage of “Umi”

at the Cincinnati Museum Center

by Jonathan Elias, PhD

Akhmim Mummy Studies Consortium

Research Paper 9-1

© 2015 AMSC Research, LLC, Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Acknowledgment

The author would like to express his deepest thanks to the Cincinnati Museum Center and to Dr. Robert Genheimer for the opportunity to study the decorated cartonnage surrounding the mummy of the Roman period Egyptian child known affectionately as “Umi”. This work was carried out in November 2009 just prior to Umi’s installation in a newly furnished gallery at the center. The main text of this paper dates to November 20, 2009.

Umi’s mummy had been equipped with a large and distinctive grouping of 24 tabular amulets which represent his family’s attempt to provide him with the magical means of resurrection. Umi’s body and each of the amulets were 3D printed by the Cincinnati Museum Center and AMSC Research, LLC in August 2010. These “prints” are now beautifully shown in the Umi display.

Umi was clearly given the “good burial” which all Egyptians hoped for. His cartonnage represents a distinctive regional style not often encountered and it is suggested that the artistry may be associated with Middle Egypt, and more particularly, with the district of Cusae (U.E. 14). It is hoped that this study will help to clarify the typological complexities of a poorly understood Egyptian region.

Dr. Genheimer, the principal investigator of this mummy, graciously shared with me a more recently run C14 assay from the inner linen wrappings surrounding Umi’s body, of 1870 +/- 40 years BP (1 sigma CAL AD 80-210 or Cal BP 1870 -1740; 2 sigma CAL AD 60-240). The single intercept of this sample is AD 130 or BP 1820.

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Stylistic Analysis of the Cartonnage of “Umi”

at the Cincinnati Museum Center

Jonathan Elias, Ph.D.

Description of the cartonnage of “Umi”

The designs are rendered on a light-colored ground describable as “off-white”. The face is a slightly brighter white hue that appears to have a very dense shell-like finish. In the main, the artist has organized the top surface of the cartonnage with linear bands of blue that contrast with the ground-color. An important stylistic consideration is the prevalence of rosettes in the general scheme of decoration. Eight-petalled rosettes are placed within the linear zones in emulation of floral bouquets. Similar rosette embellishment occurs in the second concentric ring of the collar design. (See Discussion 1 on Rosettes, below).

The rims of the eyes and eyebrows are painted black. The artist has indicated the texture of the eyelashes and eyebrow hair using very fine vertical stippling.

Fig. 1. Head of the Cartonnage of Umi (Credit: Cincinnati Museum Center Website)

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Upper Aspect of Cartonnage

A winged scarab-beetle covers the crown of the head. The plumage of its wings descends to either side of the head (black and white upon a red ground). Kneeling images of the goddesses Isis (mummy’s right) and Nephthys (mummy’s left) border the neck line. These are accompanied by smaller standing images of Horus (mummy’s right) and Thoth (mummy’s left) featured as companions to Isis and Nephthys respectively. Horus holds a staff with many small notches—emblematic of a myriad of years. A staff of this type is often held by deities associated with personal annals and anniversaries (such as days of birth and naming). The neck area is delineated by the design of a small beaded necklace flanked by uraeus-clusters linked tail-to-tail (six per group). Such elements begin to appear in mummy mask design in the mid-Ptolemaic Period (after 200 BC). They become very common in mask design after 100 BC and are frequently found incorporated into masks found on mummies discovered in the Fayum Region of northern Upper Egypt (See Discussion 2: On uraeus-clusters, below).

Fig. 2. Collar and lower face of the Cartonnage of Umi (Credit: Cincinnati Museum Center Website)

Although the top of the head is severely damaged, traces of what appears to be a female face (oriented frontally) still adhere to the summit of the cartonnage. The image is plausibly interpreted as an image of the goddess Hathor. She is not normally encountered in this form in cartonnage design. More frequently, she is rendered in the form of the hesat cow. Significantly, Hathor, as the hesat cow is associated with the magical device known as a hypocephalus, which is positioned below the back of the head (occiput) is order to magically transfer life-giving warmth to the mummified corpse in accordance with Book of the Dead spell 165. It would not be inappropriate to have an image of the Hathor on the summit of the head, but we would normally expect the bovine form. (See Discussion 3: On Hathor, below).

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The falcon-headed collar design consists of a central zone and four bands. Innermost (nearest to the neck) is a winged scarab motif (Khepri-Apay). This is bounded by a band (#1) containing zig-zagging lines which separate alternating yellow and blue triangles. The next band (#2) contains eight-petalled rosettes; the next (#3) contains an alternating lotus and bud motif and the outermost band (#4) consists of bangles. The collar is framed on either side by goddess figures, seated with legs stretched outward in front. Their arms are positioned as if supporting the outermost band of the collar.

Fig. 3. Collar of the Cartonnage of Umi (Credit: Cincinnati Museum Center Website)

Torso Vignettes

The body of the cartonnage is filled by zones containing funerary vignettes framed by blue bands decorated with eight-petalled rosettes. The upper zone shows the Four Sons of Horus facing inward toward Osiris in the form of the djed-pillar (Qebhsenuef inner, mummy’s right; Duamutef inner, mummy’s left; Hapi outer, mummy’s right; Imsety outer, mummy’s left). The pillar is emblematic of Osiris’ spinal column and represents his orthostatic duration throughout eternity. Here the pillar is given arms and these are positioned in the manner of Osiris’ own (bent at the elbow and with crook and flail scepters in each hand). The pillar wears the atef-crown and communicates the idea that this particular djed-pillar is Osiris himself. Obelisks are added to either side as suggestions of solar efficacy.

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Fig. 4. Vignettes on the Cartonnage of Umi (Credit: Cincinnati Museum Center)

The middle zone shows Horus (mummy’s right) and Thoth (mummy’s left) supporting the “reliquary of Abydos” (the receptacle upon a pole which traditionally held Osiris’ severed head). The figures of priests holding branches complete the scene.

Fig. 5. Vignettes on the Cartonnage of Umi (Credit: Cincinnati Museum Center)

The lower zone shows Anubis, standing facing right holding a cup in his left hand. He stands on a plinth and ministers to a mummy upon a lion-headed funerary bier. One canopic vessel appears

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below the bier. An interesting and unusual aspect of this design is the fact that the mummy is shown with the head of a falcon. The scene is framed by a tall shrub on each side, and the use of such elements is in keeping with the artist’s tendency to fill zones of this cartonnage wherever possible with branching vegetation. We would normally expect kneeling figures of Isis and Nephthys at either end of the funerary bier. It is possible that the shrubs represent these goddesses in arboreal form.

On the top surface of the foot area of the cartonnage, the artist has created a checkered pattern of squares which suggests the structure of the mummy bandaging.

Fig. 6. The toe of the Cartonnage of Umi (Credit: Cincinnati Museum Website)

Sides

The imagery on the both sides of the cartonnage is dominated by djed and tyet bands signifying protection by Osiris and Isis. Up toward the head end of the of the mummy’s left side, the artist has painted a motif of the wedjat-eye encircled by a disk carried on a reed barque. This represents the sun at twilight. At the temple of Dendara a similar image (shown held aloft by Thoth and another deity, probably Horus) is labeled as “Osiris” (Kurth in Schulz and Seidel 1998:300). On the head end of the mummy’s right side, the artist has placed the motif of the Khepri beetle inside a disk and again supports it with a barque. This represents the sun at daybreak. The barques on either side glide upon zig-zagging lines which are hieroglyphic symbols for water.

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Fig. 7. Lateral view of the Cartonnage of Umi (Credit: Cincinnati Museum Website)

Foot Base

One of the most interesting vignettes on the cartonnage appears on the base of the foot. At center is a female figure with rounded “bag” wig (and possibly a disk on her head). She reaches outward and grasps a flowering stem with each hand. These represent the ‘stem of many years’ (described above in connection with the image of Horus on the upper aspect of the cartonnage). She is flanked on either side by very unusual symbols: the bottom of which resemble (quite consciously) the cross of an ankh-sign. In each example, instead of the expected loop above the horizontal strap, the whole breaks out into a sweep of branches. These branches actually touch the ‘myriad years’ symbols in the hands of the goddess. At the base of each of these ‘arboreal ankh’ signs, the artist has drawn in a small anthropoid figure which seems to be catching a stream of pellets (fluid?) pouring downward from the tree. This is unusual imagery, but not inconsistent with examples showing the deceased deriving nourishment from the goddesses Nut or Hathor depicted in arboreal form.

Discussion 1: On Rosettes

Decoration of this general type (rosettes within bands) seems to have been prevalent in coffins associated with Kharga, the southernmost of the Oases located west of the Nile Valley. Examples of rosette bands in coffin decoration include Cleveland Museum of Art 1914.715 (Riggs 2005:50, fig. 13) and Amsterdam 7070 (Riggs 2005:53). Both are dated to the first half of the 1st century AD.

Close examination of beautifully painted mummy masks recovered from the necropolis of Meir near Cusae in Middle Egypt reveals the use of rosettes in the decoration of collar bands. They generally occupy the top-most band in the collar sequence and recur in the fourth, seventh and tenth bands. Interestingly, rosette bands in collar design on masks from Meir are often juxtaposed with bands that feature zig-zagging lines resolved into triangles of alternating color. This feature is exactly what is seen in the collar design of Umi’s cartonnage.

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Discussion 2: On Uraeus-clusters

Uraeus-clusters are an important feature of mummy mask design in the Late Ptolemaic and Roman Periods. Although prevalent in the decorative patterns seen in Fayumic masks associated with sites such as Hawara and Tebtynis, they also figure on masks at Meir (Cusae), farther south, in Middle Egypt (Riggs 2005:Plates 3 and 5), where they occur as groupings of four or five serpents interlinked. It is important to note that uraeus-clusters are less common in masks associated with mummies discovered at Akhmim and Thebes.

Discussion 3: On Hathor

Above, it was suggested that the image of Hathor identified on the summit of the head of the cartonnage is possibly the remnant of a painted hypocephalus disk. Such are occasionally found rendered in paint upon the top of the head of mummy masks. These paintings substitute for actual inscribed discoid objects serving amuletically to focus heat to the top of the head (e.g., Raven and Taconis 2004:158, fig. 20.1b, example from Akhmim). We would normally expect the hesat cow (a form of Hathor) rather than an anthropoid image of Hathor herself if the cartonnage fragment belonged to a painted hypocephalus. Then why is Hathor depicted here at all? The answer to that question may actually point to the place of origin of the cartonnage and mummy of Umi. Having already discussed several stylistic features (rosettes and uraeus-clusters), the reader will recognize that masks from Cusae feature both elements. It is perhaps significant to point out with respect to the provenience of Umi that the goddess Hathor is the preeminent deity of Cusae, and that her cult there was of great importance. Hathor’s various manifestations include, most decisively here, that of a tree-goddess who dispenses life-giving fluids to the deceased.

Conclusion

In view of the factors discussed above, it is suggested that the cartonnage and mummy of Umi originated from the vicinity of the necropolis of Meir, near Cusae in Middle Egypt. It can perhaps be dated to the mid-2nd century AD (or slightly earlier). While the 12th Dynasty cemetery of Meir is well-known, the importance of the Cusae region in the later phases of Egyptian history is only now beginning to enter the Egyptological literature. Umi’s cartonnage is therefore difficult to deal with typologically. Nevertheless, it stands as an important representative of a regional artistic tradition which focused on the mythology associated with life-giving arboreal goddesses (Nut and Hathor). All of this requires a good deal more attention than can be given at this stage. It is hoped that additional study may one day improve our understanding of this class of material and help bring Umi and his community into clearer view.

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References

Kurth, Dieter. 1998. “A World Order in Stone: The Late Temples”, in Schulz and Seidel, eds. Egypt, World of the Pharaohs, pp. 296-311.

Raven, Maarten and Taconis, Wybren. 2005. Egyptian Mummies. Radiological Atlas of the Collections in the National Museum of Antiquities at Leiden. Papers on Archaeology of the Leiden Museum of Antiquities, 1. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers.

Riggs, Christina. 2005. The Beautiful Burial in Roman Egypt: Art, Identity and Funerary Religion. Oxford Studies in Ancient Culture and Representation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Schulz, Regina and Seidel, Matthias, eds. 1998. Egypt, The World of the Pharaohs. Köln: L. Könemann.