University of Tartu Art Museum to display rare Egyptian mummies and introduce interesting death culture

From 9 February the Mummy Chamber will be open in UT Art Museum – it is a room filled with stories and inviting to adventures in Ancient Egypt.

“The Mummy Chamber is a versatile place, on the one hand it finally offers a dignified place for the unique mummy boys from our museum collections, and on the other hand, gives a thorough picture of the worldview of ancient Egyptians and information on their death culture and coveted afterlife,” says head of the UT Art Museum Jaanika Anderson. The detailed murals on the chamber walls tell stories of mummification, weighing the heart, the afterlife and a number of other issues. “Here we definitely have something for visitors of any age group to discover,” Anderson says.

The Mummy Chamber, opened as an extension to the permanent exhibition, gives a wonderful opportunity for school teachers to teach ancient cultures, history and art, because the museum now also offers educational programmes on Ancient Egypt, in addition to its ongoing programmes on Greek and Roman cultures.

Additionally, the Mummy Chamber reveals elements preserved of the original function of the room, the university’s 19th-century cash room, in which money for staff salaries was kept behind richly decorated safe doors.

The Mummy Chamber is open for visitors from Monday to Friday 11–17 in the Art Museum in the main building of the University of Tartu.

Idea and concept of the Mummy Chamber: team of the University of Tartu Art Museum (Jaanika Anderson, Ingrid Sahk, Kristiina Tiideberg, Külli Valk, Anne Arus, Maria Väinsar, Liisi Pabstel)

Interior design: Mari Kurismaa

Murals: Kristiina Ribelus and Pille Vilgota

Sarcophagus and Canopic jar models: Eike Eplik, Anne Arus, Arvi Kuld

Furniture: Wako Värkstuba

                                                                                                                                                                               

The exhibition was created with the support of the Estonian Research Council, the European Social Fund, Integration and Migration Foundation “Our People” and the University of Tartu.

Additional information: kunstimuuseum.ut.ee

Additional information: Jaanika Anderson, Head of UT Art Museum, 5344 7404, jaanika.anderson@ut.ee