Item Size:  11.5" High      Type:  Wall Plaque  

Material:  Casting Stone, with Antique Stone Finish & Color Detail

Original:  From the Tomb of Senneden, 19th Dynasty, 1290-1224 B.C.E.

Current Location of Original:  Tomb of Senneden, Luxor, Egypt

In this relief, the Egyptian god Anubis is shown embalming the body of the high official, Sennedjem. In the ancient Egyptian language, the term used for embalming, Senefer, means “to give vitality again,” while the term that is used for an embalming house, Per Nefer, means “the house of vitality.” To the Egyptian way of thinking, death was only transitory, and mummification prepared the deceased for the trip to the underworld and immortality. The process of mummification lasted seventy days. First, the body had ritual washings, then, most of the brain was taken out through an opening in the nose. The rest was dissolved with aromatic products. The heart, lungs, and viscera were taken out and placed in four jars. The heart was replaced by one of ceramic or stone. After the body was submerged for seventy days in dry natron, it became incorruptible, and finally it was washed, dried, and bandaged with fine linen, while religious formulas were chanted.