Exhibition: Important finds on show for first time

ANSA

A fascinating selection of human and animal mummies is to go on public show for the first time ever as part of an upcoming exhibition in this northern Italian town.

The bulk of the exhibition will focus on items kept in storage at Turin's Egyptian Museum, the largest collection of Egyptian artefacts outside Cairo.

There are two human mummies on show, one male and one female, dating back to the First Intermediate Period (2,100-1,900 BC).

The unknown male mummy is encased in a sarcophagus and holding a staff, a symbol of power and prestige. The female mummy is of a woman named Neb-em-Khis, the wife of a provincial chief, whose powers typically grew as the pharaoh's waned.

Neb-em-Khis's sarcophagus contained a mirror, a headrest and a makeup box, all of which will go on display with the mummy.

Although in good condition, the mummies have been the subject of a careful study and conservation process in recent months.

The sarcophagi were discovered in Egypt in the early 1900s during excavations carried out in Assiut and Gebelein by the renowned Italian Egyptologist, Ernesto Schiaparell, famous for finding the tombs of Queen Nefertari and the royal architect Kha. Also on display will be a series of excavation diaries, letters and photographs by Schiaparelli documenting the digs and his excitement at discoveries during the period 1908 and 1920.

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