Ptolemaic or Roman Egypt Cartonnage Fragment in Linen and Plaster Depicting Duamutef and Imsety.

As you may already know, I only collect now for the purposes of educating others. Particularly, in matters of Christian faith, to bring the Bible to life or to educate in an engaging manner. If that is not your cup of tea, then there is no need to read past this line as all the pertinent info is in the title. This post took on a very different form than the one I imagined for it due to unforeseen circumstances which have left me shattered for the time being, and so instead of focusing on the idols and death practices of ancient cultures like I was going to, it has now taken on the focus of coping with loss in Christian living:

Before I discuss this artifact and idols as the educational part of this post, I would first like to edify the believer and give hope on the subject of death and loss.

In this moment, I am grieving the loss of a loved one. The pain is unfathomably deep and real. The chasm that has opened up has swallowed my joy, and the savor of life is lost in this moment of sorrow. I hurt. What more can be said beyond that? Such simple words, but the complexity and myriad of emotions therein contained are indescribable and can only be understood through experience.

The searing loss feels like it cannot heal, but I know there will be a day when “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). It is the day of hope we are praying for and counting on. It is the day of rejoicing for the Christian, “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). Jesus comforts us, saying, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die (John 11:25-26), so in this promise we can find strength and respite from our heart’s affliction in that we know God has not abandoned us.

The waves of pain themselves will die, and all who love God’s Word will rise. “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18) so that those who hope in “the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). And those who trust in Him may sing, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).

One day, all must take the next step in our eternal journey, for there is “a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to [harvest]” (Ecclesiastes 3:2). “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14). “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). This is one of the joys of being a Christian. “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).

With all this said, I find enough strength to continue on. I find hope and peace even in this terrible storm that would otherwise undo me. It is my prayer that what is written above about death and the resurrection, though sown with tears, will bring comfort for someone else in his/her affliction. For God’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Even now in my tearful weakness, God has inspired me to write this for your benefit and mine, that we might stand firm in His promises and once more taste the savor of life unto life everlasting (2 Corinthians 2:16).

While this is neither how I intended to write this piece for this artifact nor how I normally write at all for any artifact, the fact remains: the same night this artifact arrived, I suddenly lost someone so very dear to me that I considered her like a daughter. And this piece is as much to strengthen me as it is to strengthen you. I know death is not the end but, rather, just the beginning as Evelyn said in the 1999 film, The Mummy. This fact, though not understood fully, has been a part of almost every culture since pre-history. The fact that most ancient cultures incorporated grave goods in burials and cremations suggests they believed there was life after death and possible need or benefit of having these things.

The Indus Valley cultures, some of the first civilization builders, made food offerings to their dead. Some cultures still to this day not only make offerings, but even consume parts of their dead so that they may “live on” in them. Sme of the Indonesian Toraja people keep their deceased inside their homes with them for years, even handling the bodies regularly.

Most famously, the ancient Egyptians had an entire civilization built around death. Their greatest monuments, their religion, and their burial practices all attest to how concerned they were about the preservation of the dead so that their souls may journey through eternity happily and healthily without fear or want.

This particular artifact is a Ptolemaic or Roman Egypt cartonnage fragment in dyed plaster-covered fine linen depicting two sons of Horus: Duamutef and Imsety. Cartonnage is the linen or papyrus material which makes up the case that holds a mummy, a mask that goes over a mummy’s face, or decorative panels that go around a mummy. It is made of successive layers treated to be stiff but pliable and is decorated on the outside in stucco, plaster, or gold leaf.

Duamutef and Imsety were usually depicted on the eastern side of the coffin, burial shroud, or mask which is also commonly decorated with a pair of eyes there. The mummy usually laid on its side facing east, the direction of the rising sun which represented life and resurrection. Hapi and Qebehsenuef, the other two sons of Horus, were usually depicted on the western side.

Each was believed to provide a role in keeping the body and spirit safe for eternity. Canopic jars were usually modeled after them, and each held a different organ with its own spiritual significance. Unfortunately for the interred, as the Bible tells us, these are merely idols which profit the body and soul nothing, for:

“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them” (Psalm 115:4-8).

“Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Romans 1:22-23).

“They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble” (Isaiah 46:7).

“What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it” (Habakkuk 2:18-19).