Museum to Raise Funds for Mummy

The story of Perth Museum’s ancient Egyptian mummy, Ta-Kr-Hb, is one that has fascinated visitors and staff since she was first presented to Perth Museum in the 1930s.

In 2013, Ta-Kr-Hb made a short journey to the Manchester Royal Children’s Hospital. Her check-up included a CT scan, X-rays and a close examination of her coffin or sarcophagus. Everyone was thrilled to discover she definitely was female and that she had a name, written in hieroglyphics on the lid of the coffin: Ta-kr-hb [pronounced ‘Takerheb’]. This is a known female name but as yet its meaning is not understood.

Almost 85 years after arriving in Perth, Ta-Kr-Hb needs your help. Now too fragile to be displayed in public, she urgently requires conservation to ensure her preservation for future generations and so her story can be shared in Perth City Hall, currently undergoing a multi-million pound transformation into a world class museum set to open in 2022.

Almost 85 years after arriving in Perth, Ta-Kr-Hb needs your help.

The museum will showcase objects from one of Scotland’s oldest and most important public collections, and a number of star exhibits will be displayed in the new galleries.

The cost of the conservation work on Ta-Kr-Hb is over £16,000. Culture Perth and Kinross, the charitable trust which manages Perth’s museums and galleries, will ensure a contribution through public grants and several thousands of pounds have already been collected through previous fundraising efforts, but over £7,000 is still required.

Culture Perth and Kinross is now launching the second phase of their campaign and hoping the public will get behind this and make donations to raise the much needed money to enable the conservation work to go ahead. Not only will this allow her condition to be stabilised for display but will enable the creation of a 3-D digital reconstruction of her face.

Mark Hall, Collections Officer at Perth Museum said “This is a wonderful opportunity to give Ta-Kr-Hb the specialist care and attention she needs so that she can more fully share with us the story of her life in ancient Egypt.”

All donations will help guarantee a future for this ancient, unique and much-loved Mummy.

About Ta-kr-hb

As a result of radiographic examinations at Manchester Royal Children’s Hospital, it was revealed that the skeleton of Ta-Kr-Hb had suffered extensive damage to the chest and pelvis, sometime after the body had been mummified.

The skull remains intact and radiography revealed that as part of the mummification process the brain mass was removed through the sinus cavities.

The eyes were left in position and the globes packed with linen. Dental examination revealed the loss of the back teeth on the upper jaw as a result of root infection. The surviving teeth on the lower jaw show heavy wear caused by a fibrous diet contaminated by inorganic particles such as sand.

The coffin appears to have been made in the provincial town of Akhmim, Upper Egypt, sometime between 760BC-525BC.

About Culture Perth and Kinross

Culture Perth and Kinross is a charitable Trust which has responsibility for the delivery and development of the archive, library, museum and gallery services in Perth & Kinross.