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Unwrapping the Mummy

A work made of lithograph in black on ivory wove paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of lithograph in black on ivory wove paper.

Date:

before 1825

Artist:

Harriet Cheney
British, 1771–1848

About this artwork

Harriet Cheney learned how to make lithographic prints under the tutelage of Dominique-Vivant Denon, the diplomat, explorer, and director of the Musée du Louvre. This print by Cheney, showing a curious gathering in Denon’s Paris apartments, was once misinterpreted as depicting the autopsy of a monkey. What is actually taking place is the unwrapping of a mummy acquired by Denon on his Egyptian travels; Harriet can be seen, midsketch, at lower left.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Harriet Cheney

Title

Unwrapping the Mummy

Place

England (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1815–1825

Medium

Lithograph in black on ivory wove paper

Dimensions

Image: 27.5 × 36.5 cm (10 7/8 × 14 3/8 in.); Sheet: 30.8 × 38.6 cm (12 3/16 × 15 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Dr. Ira Frank

Reference Number

1944.480

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/51058/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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