Gallery Review: Tomb 10A

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to see the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston's exhibit on Tomb 10A. For decades myself and my family were members of the MFA but discontinued our membership last year because we felt that the majority of their exhibits catered to the mainstream Monet and Van Gogh lovers and did not push the envelope. After seeing Tomb 10A, I have to rethink our lapsed membership.

The history of the exhibit begins in 1915 when archeologists from the MFA were sent to Egypt to excavate the tomb of governor Djehutynakht. When the excavation occurred, it became clear that tomb robbers had preceded the archeologists. In 2009, excavators returned to the site to do some more digging. Tomb 10A, on exhibit until June 27th, is the culmination of these two excavations. Though there are aspects of the exhibit that are similar to other ancient Egypt exhibits, the MFA sets themselves apart by creating a chronology to the exhibit and ushering visitors from a basic introduction to Djehutynakhtto items found in the tomb, the coffin found within Djehutynakht's, a mummified head of either Djehutynakht or his wife, and the history of the excavation in general.

The coffins (seen above) are one of the two most interesting aspects of this exhibit. Djehutynakht's coffin was in fact multiple coffins within each other. Each coffin was hand painted with hieroglyphics and other symbols that were to help its inhabitants in the next life. In one of the coffins were the sandals worn by Djehutynakht when he was entombed that were thought to be of use to him in the afterlife. My other favorite part of the exhibit were the model boats that were found within the tomb (right). There were over 50 model boats that were found the purpose of which were to carry Djehutynakht down the river into the next life.

Other patrons were attracted to the mummified head and its history after its excavation which included a trip to the MGH where a cat scan was taken in order to help solve the mystery of to whom it belonged. There are still no answers.

The aspect of the exhibit that set this apart of others of its kind was the arrangement of the exhibit. In addition, the MFA found a way to show visitors the items that would have been in the tomb had it not be raided before 1915. The curators brought artifacts from the MFA's permanent collection to show the kinds of items that the raiders had taken but otherwise would have been found in the tomb. I also thought that knowing the history of the exhibit and Tomb 10A in general was extremely interesting and helpful in understanding the material. Personally, I thought that this would a fabulous exhibit and would recommend it to anyone in the area!

-DLP