Essay on the Mummy Exhibition in Power House Museum in Sydney Australia

The powerhouse museum is among the leading museums in Australia. Located in Australia's capital Sydney, specifically, 500 Harris St, Ultimo NSW 2007, the museum offers a variety of socio-cultural, historical and archeological exhibitions that offer invaluable knowledge to interested parties. My visit to the museum was inspired by the Egyptian Mummies exhibition that is on until the 30th of April 2017. The mummies' exhibition was located on the third level of the museum, adjacent to locomotive number one or more specifically the ramps heading to level one and two. For further directions, the Boulton and Watt engine and the Strasburg clock are located on the same floor as the exhibition. As the name suggests, the exhibition was all about mummies. The exhibition contained a total of eight galleries with six of them having actual mummies and the other two containing artifacts from the around the time when these mummies were alive. What made the exhibition interestingly unique, was the method chosen by the curators to display the mummies. Alongside the sarcophagus that contained the mummies, were interactive displays that included the actual CT scans of the mummies (Alberti, 2005). The mummies remained surprisingly intact, shedding light to the incredible embalming skill of the early Egyptians.

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The museum succeeded in enabling the patrons to have a closer somewhat realistic view of the mummies themselves, casting away doubts on the authenticity of the exhibition (Hooper-Greenhill, 1992). Moreover, the CT scans enabled the viewers to travel back in time, to see the quality of life, the spiritual aspect of ancient life, the belief in the afterlife and the skillful care taken during the mummification process. For instance, the exhibition of tamut invites viewers into the spiritual life of ancient Egyptians. Tamut was the daughter of the priest of the god Amun, who went by the name Khonsumose. An examination of Tamut's CT scans reveals many amulets and ritual trappings an indication of the importance of afterlife as part of the Ancient Egyptian culture. In this light, therefore, the exhibition was a success.

However, the museum could have done more to simplify the information presentation. In some instances, it was difficult to get the correlation between the mummies and to understand what they actually represented. The difference in age between some of the mummies would provide difficulty to a viewer who has little knowledge of the political changes that were constantly sweeping through the ancient kingdom of Egypt. To illustrate this, the display of a young child mummified child from the Roman era and that of the temple singer from the third intermediate period of the 22nd dynasty. An individual with a brief of Egyptian history can appreciate the transition in politics in Ancient Egypt.

It is undeniable, however, that the exhibition inspires a sense of awe, curiosity and deep appreciation of the organization, intelligence, deep spirituality and civility that is sometimes similar to or surpasses that of modern society (Barrett, 2011). The intricately carved artifacts invite the viewer into artistry that almost incomparable to any modern art. The deep spiritual meanings that these artifacts represent also sheds light into the importance religion played in ancient Egyptian life. Being a polytheistic society, the Egyptians worshiped many gods, Osiris, iris, Anubis among others. These artifacts display how the gods were revered and worshiped, furthermore, the transition from the polytheistic approach to a more monotheistic worship of Amun is also discernible from the exhibition.

In my opinion, if the display would have included mummies from earlier periods of Egyptian history, then it would be possible to appreciate changes in Egyptian politics, culture, and religion. In the current situation, the mummies were mostly from the third intermediate period, late period and the Roman period, giving viewers an idea of only part of the rich Egyptian history (Phillips, 2007). Although this comment should not be viewed as a lack of appreciation of the curators' efforts, indeed the display is excellent, and the scarcity of these mummies makes it impossible to have them at every corner of the globe.

The beauty of the exhibit is commendable, the presentation of the mummies, the interactive CT scans inspire nothing short of awe. However, to a more scientific eye, the exhibition provides a brief insight into Egyptian culture and politics. The sarcophaguses and cases show a clear distinction between the wealthy and the have-nots (Henning, 2006). For instance, the mummies of the priestesses were decorated by amulets and lavish jewelry an indication of her status in the society. Furthermore, it is quite clear that the Egyptians held and treated their dead with utmost respect and care with the belief that death is not the end but rather a transition to the afterlife.

If I were to design the exhibition differently, there is very little that I would change. However, I would try to make the exhibition not only interactive but also informative. It is unfortunate that mummies from an earlier period of Egyptian history were not present, it is still possible to give the viewers an opportunity to appreciate what happened in the days before these mummies, the political temperature, the socio-economic structures, the spiritual structures, the religious practices (Pieterse, 1997). I believe that if the patrons have a basic understanding of the history behind the mummies, they will appreciate all the more their value and importance. By utilizing the theaters down at the second level, documentaries on Egyptology can run for anyone interested in learning about the history of the mummies on display. I believe that this will make the display all the more interesting.

References

Alberti, S. 2005. Objects and the Museum, Isis 96(4): 559-571.

Barrett, J. 2011. Museums and the Public Sphere. Oxford: Wiley. (Chapter 2: Historical Discourses of the Museum, pp.45-80)

Henning, M., 2006. Museums, Media and Cultural Theory.Maidenhead: Open University Press. (Chapter 1: Object, pp.5-36)

Hooper-Greenhill, E. 1992. Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge. London: Routledge. (Chapter 1: What is a Museum? pp.1-22)

Phillips, R. B. 2007. Exhibiting Africa after Modernism: Globalization, Pluralism, and the Persistent Paradigms of Art and Artefact in G. Pollock & J. Zeman (eds) Museums After Modernism: Strategies of Engagement. Oxford: Blackwell. pp. 80-103.

Pieterse, J. N., 1997. Multiculturalism and Museums: Discourse about Others in the Age of Globalization, Theory, Culture & Society 14(4): 123-146.