MUMMY FROCKS!

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XXIII, 5 February 1923, Page 5

MUMMY FROCKS!

DESIGNS ADAPTED FROM EGYPTIAN TOMB. Per Press Asaociation—Copy right. LONDON, February 3. Interest in Tutankhamen’s tomb exceeds that of any archaeological discovery since the Evans find in Crete. Parisian and London dressmakers are utilising the discoveries to popularise mummy frocks, the peculiarity of which is that they are swathed round the body and cling to the legs. Mrs Asquith is wearing such’ a frock. Archaeologists express the opinion that the tomb wall be found to be of a simple type, not highly decorated like some of the earliest examples. The King probably will' be found in a wooden sarcophagus, decorated with pictures of the sky goddess “Nut.” The “Morning Post’s” telegram from Luxor describes the chariots, a shrine shaped box, similar to a Roman Catholic tabernacle, and a wonderfully carved wooden Ushabti, inlaid with gold just taken from the tomb. The latter is one of the finest art objects in the art chamber. The Ushabti is specially interesting, because it is connected with Amen worship, though the craftsmanship of the figure recalls the Telelamarna manner, where Amen worship was established, which was Tutankhamen’s first faith. This suggests that Teielamama was a source of the fine artistry displayed on the tomb. The shrine is two feet high and a foot square. It has a carved top recalling an early era of Egyptian cultivators, when Pharaonic architects conceived shrines for gods, and modelled them in primitive hute. The shrine is made of wood, embossed with gold, decorated with hunting scenes. It is an object without parallel in Egyptian archaeology though at first it was believed to be an Ushabti ease.—A. and N.Z.