Momies Egyptiennes (Egyptian Mummies)

Félix Bonfils

National Gallery of Art

Two wrapped mummies stand propped against a rough, earthen wall in this vertical black and white photograph. The mummy on our left is entirely covered with light-colored fabric while the mummy on the right appears to be uncovered or the coverings have melded to the skin and skeleton. A dark-skinned man sits against the wall to the left of the mummies. He wears a cap and a long, loose, light-colored tunic. His bare feet are planted on the dry, cracked dirt ground, his knees bent so he can prop one elbow on a knee to rest his head, sleeping. His arms and head are slightly blurred, and a vessel sits between his feet. Another mummy, wrapped more thickly than the other two, lies across the bottom of the picture. A larger painted vessel with a wide belly and artifacts, including perhaps a wrapped skull and an oil lamp, are displayed around the prone mummy. Cursive text along the bottom of the photograph reads "235 Momies Egyptiennes."