A 2,300-year-old Egyptian mummy was among the rare objects of historical interest which were saved from drowning at the Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur during the torrential rains that lashed the city last week. The mummy was taken out of its glass box in the museum’s basement and shifted to another hall in the building.
The rainwater, which inundated several roads and residential colonies of the State capital on August 14, entered the museum’s basement and submerged artefacts, paintings, maps, files and documents. Just before the water at four-foot level could touch the mummy, the staff broke the glass and carried it to a dry area on the upper floor.
The mummy, named Tutu, a female member of a family of priests, dates back to Egypt’s Ptolemic period from early 300 B.C. to 30 B.C. It was excavated from a pyramid in Akhmim area of the ancient city of Panopolis.
It is one of only six mummies in India and was gifted by the Museum of Cairo for an exhibition in Jaipur organised by the then ruler of the princely state, Sawai Madho Singh II, in 1887. Three experts from Egypt’s Ministry of Culture, who came here in 2011 to conserve the mummy, had concluded that it was in good condition. They had sterilised all the attached objects to wipe out microbes.
Main attraction
The mummy has been one of the main attractions of the museum, which functions in the historic building constructed in the Indo-Saracenic style. The museum is named after King Edward VII (Albert Edward) during whose visit to the city as the Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne its foundation stone was laid in 1876.
After the rains, hundreds of documents and antiques have been strewn on the floors of the museum for drying. The entry of tourists has been closed for seven days, said Prakash Chandra Sharma, Director, Department of Archaeology and Museums.
Diya Kumari, a member of Jaipur’s erstwhile royal family and a BJP MP from Rajsamand, expressed shock at the damage caused to the artefacts in the museum. “Torrential rains and rampant disregard by the government have damaged the treasures of the past... That adequate measures for their protection were not taken is a sad commentary on the departments concerned,” she tweeted.
State Art and Culture Minister B.D. Kalla, who visited the museum on Tuesday, said the staff were vigilant and had rescued the mummy and other important objects. He said preventive steps would be taken to protect the artefacts and another museum would be established in Jaipur to display the objects of historical interest.
