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Foreword

The exhibition Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt is part of an ongoing program to share little-known and unexpected treasures from the Brooklyn Museum’s Egyptian collection with a wider audience. In this case, we focus on the often puzzling mummies of animals.

At the same time, Soulful Creatures represents an innovative, cross-disciplinary approach to understanding the objects in our care. Combining the archaeological expertise of Egyptologists with the scientific knowledge of museum conservators and consulting medical specialists, this exhibition brings to our visitors an art history informed by the latest technology. It presents a fresh view of the meaning of animal mummies within Egyptian society, a view based on fascinating new analytical data gleaned from chemical analysis, carbon-14 dating, and imaging from X-rays and CT scans. The exhibition truly offers a new understanding of the ancient world, through some of the most surprising artifacts to have survived.

I wish to thank managing curator Edward Bleiberg for leading the team of curator Yekaterina Barbash and conservator Lisa Bruno in creating this exhibition and its accompanying book. Each of them brought an original and thought-provoking view to the study of animal mummies, and each worked tirelessly to make the project a reality.

For the ongoing support of the Museum’s Trustees, we extend special gratitude to John S. Tamagni, Chairman, and every member of our Board. Without the confidence and active engagement of our Trustees, it would not be possible to initiate and maintain the high level of exhibition and publication programming exemplified by Soulful Creatures.

Arnold L. Lehman

Director

Brooklyn Museum

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(see figure 59)

1. One side of the double statue of Serapis

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