Mummy of Irthorru
Irthorru was a man who once rose each day not to fields or markets, but to the presence of a god. Living in Akhmim near Thebes around c. 600 B.C., Irthorru belonged to Egypt’s quiet elite; not a king, not a warrior, but a priest entrusted with one of the most intimate sacred duties imaginable; dressing the god Min himself. This was no mere ritual of cloth and cord. To clothe a god was to touch divinity, to renew cosmic order with careful hands and reverent precision.
Between the ages of thirty-five and forty-nine at the time of his death, Irthorru lived a life measured not in monuments, but in sanctity. His coffin tells us what the living world already knew: that he was upper-class, educated, and woven deeply into the spiritual machinery of Late Period Egypt. At just over five feet tall, his stature may have been modest, yet his role placed him astonishingly close to the divine.
Wrapped with care and confidence, Irthorru steps into eternity dressed as a man of rank and ritual. A priest at Akhmim, the great cult-centre of the fertility god Min, he bore an impressive roll of titles including; prophet, stolist (keeper of sacred vestments), and master of secrets. Such words were not lightly given.
His gilded mask gleams softly over the face alone, while a bead-net of blue glazed composition drapes the body like a starry firmament. At the breast, the winged goddess Nut spreads her protection, welcoming him into rebirth. Amulets lie hidden and revealed: a wedjat-eye and falcon pectoral over the chest, a djed-pillar at his back, and even a small metal charm tucked discreetly behind the left leg; insurance, perhaps, for the long journey ahead.
The body itself tells quieter truths. Teeth worn by a lifetime of use, a painful dental infection, and strain to the spine speak of middle age lived fully, if not gently. His arms are crossed in priestly repose, right over left, and his organs (carefully wrapped) remain with him, watched over by resin and ritual.
That such a mummy was afforded to Irthorru is no surprise. His father, Ankhwennefer, served as Second Prophet of Min, and the family’s status is written plainly in gold, linen, and glass.
Purchased in 1888 through Sir Ernest A. T. Wallis Budge
Summary:
Mummy of Irthorru
Late Period, 26th Dynasty, c. 600 B.C.
From Thebes. Now at the British Museum. EA 20745
