The Mummy: A Handbook of Egyptian Funerary Archaeology

Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge was a prolific English Egyptologist, philologist, and Orientalist who served as the long-running Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum from 1893 to 1924. Knighted in 1920 for his monumental contributions to the field, Budge dedicated his career to translating and popularizing ancient texts, famously managing complex excavations across Egypt and Sudan to massively build the museum's collections. He possessed an unmatched work ethic, writing well over one hundred books during his lifetime—including his legendary, widely read translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. While 20th-century archaeological discoveries eventually challenged some of his linguistic translations and historical interpretations, Budge remains celebrated as a monumental pioneer who successfully brought the obscure, magical world of hieroglyphic literature and Nile Valley mythology into mainstream public consciousness. 

This early modern Egyptology volume compiles the detailed introductory scholarship Budge originally wrote for the Fitzwilliam Museum's artifact catalog in Cambridge. The textbook serves as an exhaustive, beautifully illustrated manual analyzing the complex mechanics behind mummification and the spiritual evolution of burial rites spanning five millennia. Budge leaves no detail unexamined, dedicating profound academic chapters to the preparation of the deceased, the design of canopic jars, the symbolism of scarabs and protective amulets, and the architectural progression of mastabas and royal sarcophagi. Additionally, the text functions as an instructional guide on translation, providing lists of royal cartouches, hieroglyphic signs, and a deep-dive into the history of the Rosetta Stone.

Burgundy cloth covered boards with gilt lettering to spine. Some slight warping to cloth covering. Heavily illustrated with foldout illustration frontispiece. Sun fading to spine. Fine condition.