Saturday, 16 February 2019

"How do Remains Convey the Destructiveness of Antiquities Collecting?


Lynda Albertson links to a copy of the Met video about the Nedjemankh coffin that has not yet been removed. Curator Janice Kamrin and Conservator Anna Serotta "How do remains convey what's no longer present?" What is striking is the way (eg 03:34) so nonchalantly mention the damage done to the coffin 'portableising' it for the trade - removing and disposing of the human remains by the artefat hunters. At 4:43 they talk of the "individual" still being "present" through the imprint of the discarded body in the resins. The black goo suggests that the body laid horizontally a while and gums and waxes seeped out of the mummy bundle before the coffin was stood on end to allow other family members to be placed in the tomb - which means there will be other items on the trade from the same burial and which also entered in 2011.

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