Rope

Unknown

30 B.C.–A.D. 364 · Organic material, fiber · Egyptian Art

This rope was once tightly drawn around a mummy of a crocodile. Sacred animals had always figured in ancient Egyptian religion, but beginning about the 7th century the phenomenon of sacred animal cults burgeoned remarkably. In some temples a single sacred animal acted as the living incarnation of a god, in others living species were kept within the temple precincts, and there were also temples and sanctuaries attached to the burial places of sacred animals. Most of the animal mummies in museums today are from among the hundreds of thousands or more made for sale to those wishing to make donations to a relevant divine animal or god in order to bring themselves to the god’s attention, perhaps for a specific purpose like a dream interpretation or a wish for fertility, perhaps for a better eternal life. Research on animal mummies has shown that the majority of mummies found at the large animal cemetery sites are pre-adults who were purposely killed for use as donations. Some of the mummies are actually ‘substitute’ mummies containing only a few bones or feathers or possibly just sticks or sand.

Artist

Unknown

Date

30 B.C.–A.D. 364

Medium

Organic material, fiber

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Gift of Darius Ogden Mills, 1904