Cattle mummy

From the Museo Egizio record

Cattle mummy representing a seated animal. The head is lifelike, while the body is rendered as a rough trapezoid. The head and forepart of the body are covered in a dark brown fabric, while the rest of the animal is covered with an undyed cloth. Underneath the undyed cloth, several other textile fabrics have been used as a stuffing. Only one horn is preserved: it is made of linen, papyrus, and several linen bandages, which were then further covered with bandages in an alternating pattern. The other horn has broken off, as the ears. Details of the muzzle are appliquéd or painted on the brown background, and a piece of textile, also brown, with self-bands can be seen. The mummy bundle consists of a skull, without horns, placed in the position suggested by the wrappings. The rest of the animal is incomplete and consists of disarticulated, skeletonised, bones. The animal was juvenile. The calf was not excerebrated. The shape of the mummy is created through a structure of vegetal elements. Fragments of stone and gravel are interspersed within the wrappings, and a thick layer of papyrus pith strips reinforces the bone bundle in the centre of the mummy. Dimensions: 43 cm x 47 cm x 67 cm. Museum location: Museum / Floor 1 / Room 11 RET / Cabinet 50 Mummies / Shelf 01. Image views available: 15.