Mummy Coffin at the Cantor Center for Visual Arts on Stanford Campus - Essay Example

The Mummy is one of the ancient inhabitants of the Middle Egyptian city that is displayed in its coffin. The mummy was given as a gift by a businessman who had acquired it from Egypt when the mummies were still many and the individuals undervalued them. Various writings on the coffin indicate the mummy’s social identity as a fertility god. The major aspect of the writing is the prayer that ensures that Irethorrou is supposed to receive meals that entail “good and pure things” to achieve its eternity. The lineage of Irethorrou is outlined on the coffin, and this includes the Akhimim city.

Based on the information written on the coffin, we note that Irethorrou was a wardrobe-priest, responsible for caring for the god’s statue. This means that the Egyptians purified the statue, cleaned it, and clothed it on a daily schedule. The major aim of Irethorrou was to specialize in funeral rituals since he was a servant of the funerary duty Osiris-Sokar. The mummy boy is wrapped in linen and it has amulets made of stones. They are positioned strategically at crucial points on the swaddling linen. It is important to note that the positioning of the amulets in the linen layer close to the body is described as posses magical effects that are connected to the Egyptian belief in the resurrection.

The amulets are placed on the Mummy in a manner that enables individuals to realize the traditions associated with the treatment of the head. These aim at reawakening and reanimating the body. We note that there are amulets placed on the right eye of Irethorrou, and they have direct associations with the Atef god. The deities are situated together with a belief that they will work in a speeded and secure manner to ensure that Irethorrou resurrects. However, we note that the life and death of Irethorrou are not indicated however, it is estimated that the mummy lived to be around forty to fifty years. The cause of his death is not identified although various bumps on his back skin characterize the infection of a deadly disease.

Museum-Cantor Center for Visual Arts on Stanford Campus
• History
The Cantor Arts Center is an art collection center that entails different works from the entire globe. The collections usually date from the pre-dynasty periods of Egypt to the present time. An estimated 2500 objects are from the African collections, while 1300 works are derived from the Egyptian and Coptic traditions, and the rest, 1200 are from the sub-Saharan cultures. These works are dated to be collected during the 19th and 20th centuries. We note that Cantor’s sub-Saharan collections encompass strong figurative art that is majorly made by western and central Africans.

The collections also entail ultradian objects and body adornment made by various artists, as several objects made of metal, leather, and basketry made by contemporary artists. The displays in the Cantor Center for Visual Arts on Stanford Campus are permanent and they are usually divided into three major chronological sections. In the prior gallery, the visitors usually view diverse contemporary works created by the media from the 1950s to the present date. These works usually belong to artists living in both the Diaspora and Africa. The next section entails African arts that were created from the 16th century to the mid-20th century. The last section of the gallery entails the ancient African arts from museum collections, these include the pre-dynasty of Egypt and the sub-Saharan cultures.

However, in the Cantor Center, we note that the ancient antiques on the view tend to be mostly pottery from 4000 to 3100 BC. This illustrates the development of the powerful dynasty and the leadership of the Pharaohs and their efforts to bring unity to Egypt under their rule. All the sections in the museum tend to be arranged in a theme that correlates the artifact through ancient, historic, and contemporary cultures.

• Overall impressions of visiting the museum
The museum was developed to ensure that it made the ancient collections available for the students and the public in general. This makes it an interesting place to be, the management has ensured that they withstand natural disasters and the negligence of the artifacts. They have managed t resurrect and expand all the collections making the center to be a great learning institution for both the public and the students. The faculty and staff have dedicatedly worked towards ensuring that the art lovers in the community have a place to view the ancient collections in a composed manner.

My impression of visiting the museum was great since I was able to understand the work of art intimately. Initially, I could not differentiate the difference between various types of art. My visit to the Cantor Center for Visual Arts on Stanford Campus provided a great moment of imagination since I couldn’t help but wonder how the art collections were made during those ancient days. I was able to appreciate the diversity of works on the display since they were arranged neatly and distinctly.  Read More