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Unwrapping ancient Egypt / Christina Riggs.

By: Riggs, Christina
Publisher: London : Bloomsbury, 2014.Description: x, 319 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.Content type: text Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 9780857855077Subject(s): Mummies -- Egypt | Textile fabrics, Ancient -- Egypt | Burial -- Egypt -- History -- To 1500 | Funeral rites and ceremonies -- Egypt | Egypt -- Civilization -- To 332 B.CDDC classification: 932 LOC classification: DT62.M7 | R54 2014Summary: "In ancient Egypt, wrapping sacred objects, including mummified bodies, in layers of cloth was a ritual that lay at the core of Egyptian society. Yet in the modern world, attention has focused instead on unwrapping all the careful arrangements of linen textiles the Egyptians had put in place.This book breaks new ground by looking at the significance of textile wrappings in ancient Egypt, and at the way their unwrapping has shaped the way we think about the Egyptian past. Wrapping mummified bodies and divine statues in linen reflected the cultural values attached to this textile, with implications for understanding gender, materiality and hierarchy in Egyptian society. Unwrapping mummies and statues similarly reflects the values attached to Egyptian antiquities in the West, where the colonial legacies of archaeology, egyptology and racial science still influence how Egypt appears in museums and the press.From the tomb of Tutankhamun to the Arab Spring, Unwrapping Ancient Egypt raises critical questions about the deep-seated fascination with this culture - and what that fascination says about our own"--Back cover.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Book Book British Museum Conservation and Scientific Research Conservation & Scientific Research DT62.M7 R54 2014 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Checked out 31/12/2021 00055690
Book Book British Museum Egypt and Sudan Shelves IE.RIG (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 54063000237001
Total holds: 0

Includes bibliography (pages [277]-306) and index.

"In ancient Egypt, wrapping sacred objects, including mummified bodies, in layers of cloth was a ritual that lay at the core of Egyptian society. Yet in the modern world, attention has focused instead on unwrapping all the careful arrangements of linen textiles the Egyptians had put in place.This book breaks new ground by looking at the significance of textile wrappings in ancient Egypt, and at the way their unwrapping has shaped the way we think about the Egyptian past. Wrapping mummified bodies and divine statues in linen reflected the cultural values attached to this textile, with implications for understanding gender, materiality and hierarchy in Egyptian society. Unwrapping mummies and statues similarly reflects the values attached to Egyptian antiquities in the West, where the colonial legacies of archaeology, egyptology and racial science still influence how Egypt appears in museums and the press.From the tomb of Tutankhamun to the Arab Spring, Unwrapping Ancient Egypt raises critical questions about the deep-seated fascination with this culture - and what that fascination says about our own"--Back cover.

AESMJ14, AES2014