Carlos takes the wraps off the mummies

The new acquisition joins a much-loved permanent collection of Egyptian artifacts that includes two coffins (one of which is pitured here).

A PORTION OF EMORY’S recently acquired $2 million collection of Egyptian mummies and artifacts became available for public viewing July 19 at the Michael C. Carlos Museum.

The display includes samples of the ten mummies and nine coffins that highlight the eighty-piece collection purchased in February from a private owner in the Niagara Falls area.

The mummy and coffin of an Egyptian child and the painted coffin of Iawtaysheret, a Theban believed to have served the Nubian rulers of Egypt in 700 B.C., are included in the first installation.

The museum plans to display additional portions of the cache at six-month intervals, leading up to a spring 2001 exhibition of the entire collection titled “Mysteries of the Mummies: The Art and Archaeology of Death in Ancient Egypt.” —G.F.