The Unlucky Mummy
- Gallery: Room 62
- Culture: 21st Dynasty
- Date: 950BC (c.)
- Object type: mummy-board
- Materials: wood; plaster
- Museum number: EA22542
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a wooden mummy-board from the 21st Dynasty, dating back to around 950 BCE. This object was placed over a mummy’s coffin, forming part of the layered burial containers used in ancient Egypt. The board is adorned with painted plaster, and intricate modeling gives it a raised-relief effect. Bright colors like red, blue, green, and yellow were used to create a vibrant, symbolic design.
The decoration includes scenes of baboons worshiping the sun, figures of the god Osiris, and protective deities. On the shoulders is a bold colored collar, suggesting religious significance. This mummy-board is intriguing not only for its artistry but also for the legends that surround it.
Popular stories claim it once brought misfortune to those who owned it, even linking it to the sinking of the Titanic. Though these tales are untrue, they illustrate how ancient objects can inspire myths over time.
See it in person
The Unlucky Mummy is on display in Room 62 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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