''Funeral of a Mummy on the Nile'' (also known as ''Funeral of a Mummy'', ) is an

oil on canvas Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or copper for several centuries. ...

painting by American artist

Frederick Arthur Bridgman Frederick Arthur Bridgman (November 10, 1847 – January 13, 1928) was an American artist known for his paintings of "Orientalism, Orientalist" subjects. Life and career Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Bridgman was the son of a physician. ...

. It was painted between 1876 and 1877 and is considered his most acclaimed painting. Since 1990, it has been exhibited in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, at the

Speed Art Museum The Speed Art Museum, originally known as the J.B. Speed Memorial Museum, now colloquially referred to as the Speed by locals, is the oldest and largest art museum in Kentucky. It was established in 1927 in Louisville, Kentucky, on Third Street ...

Background

Bridgman, who lived in Paris since 1866, made several trips to North Africa between 1872 and 1874. In the winter of 1873–74, he traveled to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

for the first time, accompanied by fellow artist Charles Sprague Pearce. After spending some time in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, they traveled upstream along the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, reaching as far as

Abu Simbel Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive Rock-cut architecture, rock-cut Egyptian temple, temples in the village of Abu Simbel (village), Abu Simbel (), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is located on t ...

in the south of Egypt. During this trip, Bridgman produced approximately 300 sketches and ink drawings, which became the source material for several later oil paintings. After returning to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in the summer of 1874, he commenced numerous large Egypt-themed compositions, among them several ambitious reconstructions of antique Egyptian life.Fort, Ilene Susan (1990). Frederick Arthur Bridgman and the American fascination with the exotic near east. City University of New York, pp. 115–47. Bridgman started working on ''Funeral of a Mummy on the Nile'' in 1876; the painting took him over six months to complete.Patterson, J. D. (2002). Beyond Orientalism: Nineteenth century Egyptomania and Frederick Arthur Bridgman’s 'The Funeral of a Mummy'. University of Louisville, pp. 28–47.

Description

''Funeral of a Mummy on the Nile'' depicts a historical reconstruction of an

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 procession. The ancient Egyptians used funerary boats made of wood to transport

mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furthe ...

corpses across the Nile to the western bank, where most burials took place. The painting portrays three boats moving across the Nile toward its west bank at sunset, with the rear boat, the funerary barge, carrying the royal sarcophagus under a canopy. Near the stern of the barge, a group of female professional mourners are depicted, while two priests are standing on the other side of the sarcophagus, in front of an altar. Behind them, three seated musicians are playing a flute, a lute and a harp. Two other boats precede the funerary barge: a white boat with rowers, carrying the

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are items buried along with a body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into an afterlife, or offerings to gods. Grave goods may be classed by researche ...

, is connected to the main barge by a rope and tows it across the Nile. Behind it is the third barge, with a decorated sail, carrying the family of the deceased and the members of the funeral procession. Dotting the water's surface alongside the funeral barge are colorful flowers which have been tossed into the river by the mourners. The background of the painting is formed by a low-ranging view of the river shoreline and the sky, with the yellow and orange colors of a sunset dominating the scene. The painting was signed with "FA Bridgman 1876–7" in the lower left corner.

Archaeological details

''Funeral of a Mummy on the Nile'' is particularly notable for its historical accuracy. It features many archaeological details and ornaments associated with old Egyptian burial practices, which show Bridgman's passion for the culture of ancient Egypt and his in-depth studies of the ancient traditions. He utilized many available archaeological sources to create an accurate portrayal of life in ancient Egypt. Bridgman also had personal contact with the noted

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

Gaston Maspero Sir Gaston Camille Charles Maspero (23 June 1846 – 30 June 1916) was a French Egyptologist and director general of excavations and antiquities for the Egyptian government. Widely regarded as the foremost Egyptologist of his generation, he be ...

, who may have provided him with details about the funeral rites. * On the rear of the main barge, several symbols associated with Egyptian funerary rites were painted, among them the

Eye of Horus The Eye of Horus, also known as left ''wedjat'' eye or ''udjat'' eye, specular to the Eye of Ra (right ''wedjat'' eye), is a concept and symbol in ancient Egyptian religion that represents well-being, healing, and protection. It derives from th ...

. * On the decorative shrine below the sarcophagus, the goddess

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

and her sister

Nephthys Nephthys or Nebet-Het in ancient Egyptian () was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. A member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology, she was a daughter of Nut and Geb. Nephthys was typically paired with her sister Isis ...

are depicted as birds of prey in human form. Above the sarcophagus, another scene with four male figures and Isis and Nephthys (in the upper corners) can be seen. In Egyptian mythology, Isis and Nephthys help the deceased to reach the afterlife. * To the top right of the sarcophagus, two decorative ornaments are depicted, standing on poles: The left ornament shows

Anubis Anubis (; ), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian (), is the god of funerary rites, protector of graves, and guide to the underworld in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine hea ...

and

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

during the

Weighing of the heart Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs were centered around a variety of complex rituals that were influenced by many aspects of Egyptian culture. Religion was a major contributor, since it was an important social practice that bound all Egyptians to ...

. This figure refers to the deceased being introduced into the Hall of Judgment, marking the admittance into the realm of the dead. The right ornament shows a

solar barque thumb Solar barques were the vessels used by the sun god Ra in ancient Egyptian mythology. During the day, Ra was said to use a vessel called the Mandjet () or the Boat of Millions of Years (), and the vessel he used during the night was known ...

topped by a vulture. * In front of the sarcophagus on the left side, there is a statue of

Thoth Thoth (from , borrowed from , , the reflex of " eis like the ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an African sacred ibis, ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine count ...

. On the right side, both to the front and to the back, two statues of

Maat Maat or Maʽat ( Egyptian: ''mꜣꜥt'' /ˈmuʀʕat/, Coptic: ⲙⲉⲓ) comprised the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regul ...

are placed on decorated pedestals. * On the black drapery which hangs over the side of the barge, a mummification scene is depicted.

Exhibitions and provenance

''Funeral of a Mummy on the Nile'' was exhibited in 1877 in the

Salon de Paris The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

. It garnered a lot of attention, became an exhibition favorite and established Bridgman's success as an artist. The painting was praised for its artistic quality, authenticity and strong academic method and was described by art critic Earl Shinn as a "masterpiece". It was considered to be on par with the Orientalist works of Bridgman's teacher

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (; 11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academic painting, academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living art ...

by some critics such as Albert Wolff. In the Paris Salon exhibition, the painting earned a third class medal, which was Bridgman's first Salon prize. It was subsequently purchased by

James Gordon Bennett Jr. James Gordon Bennett Jr. (May 10, 1841May 14, 1918) was an American publisher. He was the publisher of the ''New York Herald'', founded by his father, James Gordon Bennett Sr. (1795–1872), who emigrated from Scotland. He was generally known as ...

, publisher of the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...

'', for $5000. The painting was then exhibited at the 1878 Exposition Universelle, before disappearing from public view for more than 100 years. The painting reappeared in 1990 in an auction at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in New York. It was purchased by American art collector

Wendell Cherry Wendell Cherry (September 25, 1935 – July 16, 1991) was an American lawyer, entrepreneur, art collector and patron. The company he co-founded, Humana, grew under his leadership to become the largest hospital operator in the United States. In the ...

, who donated it to the

, where it is exhibited today.

Variants

Bridgman produced two variants of ''Funeral of a Mummy on the Nile''. They were painted on smaller canvases than the original Salon painting, but have a similar composition, as they also feature a funeral barge and two accompanying boats, one of which has a sail, in front of the river shoreline and the sunset sky. The landscape is the most significant difference between the three versions. In the Salon painting, the highest shoreline elevation is on the left side of the canvas, while the highest hills in both variants appear on the right side of the canvas. One of the variants was exhibited in the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in 1881. On the occasion of the exhibition of ''Funeral of a Mummy on the Nile'' at the 1878 Exposition Universelle,

Goupil & Cie Goupil & Cie is an international auction house and merchant of contemporary art and collectibles. Jean-Baptiste Adophe Goupil founded Goupil & Cie in 1850. Goupil & Cie became a leading art dealership in 19th-century France, with its headquart ...

issued a series of

photogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) and ...

reproductions of the painting. Two of these prints are presently in the collection of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

.{{cite web , url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e2-cd63-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 , title=Funeral of a mummy on the Nile – NYPL image ID: 834737 , publisher=

, access-date=February 29, 2024

References

Paintings by Frederick Arthur Bridgman 1887 paintings Maritime paintings Rivers in art Ancient Egypt in the Western imagination Isis Nephthys Anubis Horus Paintings of deities Nile Ancient Egyptian funerary practices Oil on canvas paintings