British Museum Director Neil MacGregor chose this as his first object because he remembered seeing it as an 8 year-old boy on his first-ever trip to the British Museum, and now he runs the place. That’s his way of including himself and acknowledging that his biases will play a role in the series. He uses the mummy of a late Egyptian priest to indicate the many directions the study of objects can take you. As a kid, he was simply grossed out and fascinated by the idea of the mummy; as a scholar, he’s now more interested in what the writing on the lids tells us about Hornedjitef and his world. Contemporary techniques can analyze the remains, tell us what Hornedjitef had to eat, what medical problems he may have had, etc.; and of course there’s the politically complicated story of how the mummy got from his ancient Egyptian tomb to the British Museum, not to mention the ethical question of whether he belongs there. From being there in person, all I can add is that the British Museum ended up with a huge collection of Egyptian antiquities, and—although the Egyptians aren’t about the details of real or ideal human beings, as with the Greeks—much of it is dazzlingly beautiful.
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