The Ghosts of Brazil's National Museum

The tragic fire of September 2, 2018, which destroyed Brazil's National Museum, as well as most of its collections, took with it one of South America's most important Egyptian collections, likely including the lovely 23rd Dynasty mummy Sha-Amun-em-su and her coffin. The museum's website says this of her,

"This coffin was a present offered by the Khedive of Egypt, Ismail, to the Emperor of Brazil, D. Pedro II, when he visited Egypt in 1876. D. Pedro II kept it standing upright in his study, near a window open one day, when the coffin was hit by a window-catch, breaking part of its side. Its left side was then repaired; this feature is still visible today."

Sha-Amun-em-su was not the only mummy in the collection, along with 700 other ancient Egyptian artifacts. The museum's display of at least 21 stone stele probably has the best chance of having survived the fire, though if they have, their likely in shattered pieces, but some hope lingers at least to this writer. One of my favorites of these monuments is a 19th Dynasty limestone stele belonging to a man named Amenemopet.

The unfortunate fire could have been avoided had the 200-year-old palace been subject to regular upgrades over the years. So often, we see museums around the world that do not seem to benefit from their millions of visitors

I would hope that the curators and trustees of the world's ancient Egyptian collections will be able to reach into their reserve collections and donate some of their duplicates to help replenish this Brazilian institution of learning, so that one day Brazil's 200 million-plus people and future generations will again be excited and inspired by ancient Egypt in Brazil. But first, a new museum needs to be found or rebuilt with proper funding, perhaps, with foreign donations to help, so that any future collection in Brazil will not be relegated to another neglected building.

Notes:

1. Images of the coffin of Sha-Amun-em-su and the stele of Amenemopet by Luiza G. da Silva, Antonio Brancaglion, National Museum of Brazil

2. Seshat: Egyptological Laboratory of the National Museum of Brazil

3. Photo of the mummy known as "Princess Kherima" 

4. Wikipedia for more photos