Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1886-06-04
nllni.ter Corr Mummy.

Mr.. Wv. Cox, chief clerk of the Ma
tional Museum, Washington, has re-
ceived a fine mummy, a souvenir from
his uncle, Hon. S. S. Cox, United States
minister ut Constantinople. The re-
mains arrived at the museum Monday,
and were at once presented to that in
stitute by Mr.. w. V. Cox. Minister
Cox, in his letter to his nephew. simply
stated that he had secured the deceased
in the upper Nile region during his re-
cent visit to Egypt. IL is supposed that
the minister had good reasons for not
being more explicit. SoEie years ago,
owing tn threatene exhaustion OF the
stock of mummies, already depleted by
Mehemet Ais reckless use of them as
fuel for his locomotives, the Egyptian
government prohibited the expectation
of mummies from the country. 1t Is as
sumed then that Minister Cox secured
the mummy either by clandestine ex-
petition into some burial place. Or
through some neatly planned diplomatic
intrigue. In either cas- of course, he
would not desire to explicitly state how
it came into his possession. 1t has been
suggested also that the sultan bestowed
this mummy upon the minister as fit
ting return of the compliment paid
him by Mr.. Cox when the latter pre-
sented his imperial highness with a
copy Of his book. The mummy was
brought to this country on the steam
ship Aurania, went through the New
York custom house without paying du-
ty and arrived in excellent condition,
after its long journey, at the museum
where it now awaits the action of the
coroner. 1t is on exhibition in one the
halls of the museum. Prof. o. L. Ma
sor, the curator of the department Of
ethnology, speaks of it as being an I'M
usually fine specimen, one of the best in
the country. The beauty Of this num-
my is that the linen bandages with
whict: it is swathed have never beer
broken open. The mask and che car
toons or painted shields placed about
the bandaged body are perfect. Per-
sons who have fOndness for mummies
or Egyptian antiquities will find much
to interest them in this speciment. The
mummy case is of acacia, or locust
wood, the exterior painted dark color.
The wood is wonderfully well pre-
served. The mummy case is carved
out of logs, and when closed has the
shape of a mummy. Upon this case is
carved and painted face with long
pointed beard. The interior was hol-
lowed out with an adze. so that the
mummy when placed in it exactly fits
it. This nice measurement indicates
that the mummy case was made to or
der and not bought ready made. This
fact and other indications about the re-
mains lead to the belief that the de-
ceased was well-to-dO citizen, though
there are no insignia of official rank.
The mask is painted and gilded. The
colOrs are still vivid and the gold-leaf
bright. Covering the bOdy from the
chin Gown to the fe are painted pau
els or sections of material like papier
mache, formed by COMPRISING layers
of linen together. These panels form 4
sort of painted shroud. The colors
used by the Egyptian artist are still
bright. A peculiar sort of cement or
stucco, the secret Of which was carried
to the tomb with tie last of the old
Egyptians, was smeared over the sur
face of these panels and the artists
painted upon the stucco, which took
the colors and has preserved them in
this case for about $500 years. Four
of these little sections, about the size Of
ordinary playing cards, lie upon the
breast of the mummy. Upon each is
painted the figure of mummi ed Osiris.
These cards look SO much alike that
some irreverent attaches of the museum
call them the "four jacks" and eak
of the dead gentleman as holding a
pretty good hand. The other panels
beneath the four jacks are highly orna-
mented and bear representations of va
rious deities and funeral emblems. The
central figure is that of Isis, with out
stretched, overshadowing wings. I'm
fortunately there was no coffin-plate on
the mummy-case, so the identity of the
remains has not been established. l. is
considered as settled by the cut Of the
beard carved upon the wooden face OF
the case, and the general indications,
that the bereaved family spared no eX-
pense in fitting out the mummy, and
that the deceased was man of wealth
and importance in the community.