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Cartonnage or cartonage is a type of material used in
In a technique similar to
The materials used to produce cartonnage changed over time. In the Middle Kingdom it was common to use plastered linen; during the
The Walters Art Museum – Mummies and Cartonnage
Google Art Project
* Shaw, Ian; and Nicholson, Paul. ''The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt.'' p. 61. The British Museum Press, 1995.
Ancient Egyptian funerary practices Egyptology
Cartonnage or cartonage is a type of material used in ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
ian funerary masks from the First Intermediate Period
The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. It comprises the seventh Dynasty, Seventh (altho ...
to the Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
era. It was made of layers of linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...
or papyrus
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...
covered with plaster
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...
. Some of the Fayum mummy portraits are also painted on panels made of cartonnage.
Technique
In a technique similar to papier-mâché
file:JacmelMardiGras.jpg, upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti
Papier-mâché ( , , - the French term "mâché" here means "crushed and ground") is a versatile craft technique with roots in ancient China, in which waste paper is s ...
, scraps of linen or papyrus were stuck together with plaster or resin and used to make mummy cases and masks. It could be molded to the shape of the body, forming a type of shell. After the material dried it could be painted or gilded. The shell could be decorated with geometric shapes, deities
A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...
, and inscriptions. During the Ptolemaic era, the single shell method was altered to include four to six pieces of cartonnage. There would generally be a mask, pectoral, apron, and foot casing. In certain instances there were two additional pieces used to cover the ribcage and stomach.
Materials
The materials used to produce cartonnage changed over time. In the Middle Kingdom it was common to use plastered linen; during the Third Intermediate Period
The Third Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt began with the death of Pharaoh Ramesses XI in 1077 BC, which ended the New Kingdom, and was eventually followed by the Late Period. Various points are offered as the beginning for the latt ...
, linen and stucco; during the Ptolemaic period, old papyrus scrolls; and during the Roman period, thicker fibrous materials.
Reusing papyrus that was considered waste was a common practice during the Ptolemaic period. Many discarded documents from the government and archives were used for this purpose.
Archeological significance
The preparation of cartonnage preserved the sections of papyrus; therefore, it is a prominent source of well-preserved manuscript sections. In 1993, the city of Helsinki received fourteen fragments of cartonnages from theEgyptian Museum of Berlin
The Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection of Berlin () is home to one of the world's most important collections of ancient Egyptian artefacts, including the Nefertiti Bust. Since 1855, the collection is a part of the Neues Museum on Berlin's ...
. Conservators at the University of Helsinki, working with specialists from the University of Michigan, were tasked with preserving the cartonnages and publishing all Greek papyrus texts derived from them.{{cite journal , url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.2307/3210435?journalCode=biblarch , title=Conservation of the Petra Papyri , last=Peterman , first=Glen L. , journal=Biblical Archaeologist , year=1994 , volume=57 , number=4 , pages=242–243 , publisher=University of Chicago Press , doi=10.2307/3210435 , jstor=3210435 , access-date=June 7, 2023 , url-access=subscription
References
External links
The Walters Art Museum – Mummies and Cartonnage
Google Art Project
* Shaw, Ian; and Nicholson, Paul. ''The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt.'' p. 61. The British Museum Press, 1995.
Ancient Egyptian funerary practices Egyptology