Bead Net Funerary Shroud
Late Period, Dynasty 26 (664-525 BCE)
Medium
Faience beads on bast fiber (probably linen)
Dimensions
45.7 × 40 × 3.8 cm (18 × 15 3/4 × 1 1/2 in.)
Classification
beadwork
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
128013
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The winged scarab beetle in the center of this beaded shroud invokes Khepri, the morning form of the sun god, whom ancient Egyptians depicted as a dung beetle. Just as the sun is born anew each dawn, Egyptians planned to be reborn into a new form of existence after death. As symbols of this renewal, scarab amulets were secured to the body with linen wrappings or incorporated into nets made of beads and laid over a mummified body. The image’s power is strengthened by the hieroglyphic meaning of t...
About the Artist
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian artists, a collective of highly skilled artisans spanning over three millennia from the Predynastic period (c. 6000–3150 BC) to the Roman era (30 BC–4th century AD), produced some of humanity's most enduring masterpieces. These anonymous craftsmen, often organized in state-sponsored workshops, lived in dedicated communities like Deir el-Medina near Luxor during the New Kingdom (c....