Rare Ramses II Mummy Emil Brugsch (1842 - 1930) Albumen Photo Circa 1890s 26.6cm x 21cm in very good condition, - if held to the light traces of fold lines can be seen, as it appears to have been sent by post circa the 1890s.

This same Emil Brugsch image and photograph of Ramses II has been sold at various auction houses around the world, though not in as good a condition, and the others have been reduced in size and adhered to a hard-board mount, - our version has never been cut-down, so still the original size from the moment it was first developed, and very clean surface on both sides.

Numbered 'No 405' the title 'Ramses I' has been crossed-out with pencil, and 'correctly' written in pencil in the right-hand bottom is "Ramses II". The error occurred after it was developed, as indeed they should have not printed 'Ramses I', as the image is of the mummy of Ramesses II, who reigned 1279-1213 BCE, and not the mummy of Seti I, who reigned around 1290-1279 BCE. It is safe to assume the pencil correction was added circa the 1890s.

The book itself was published in 1894, inside the first page written in ink, it reads; "Willie White Hadfield Xmas 1898". (Hadfield is a town in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England). On the opening of the book is a map of the regions in Egypt that are featured in the book, it appears a historic repair of the inner spine took place, and there is one page with a tear in the bottom inside section of the page, apart from these minor details, the books in pretty good shape for its age, the sun has not bleached any of the blue linen or gold lettering.

It's the 'name error' on the actual Albumen photograph, the "pencil correction", and that it was stored on the same page in which this same type of image of Ramses II is featured in the book Earthly Footsteps Of The Man Of Galilee... - you will notice the photograph in the book of Ramses II wearing what appears to be his original rag-torn robs, whereas, in the loose photograph he is wearing a new robe, and it is this robe the public has seen him wearing since circa the 1890s.

Émile Brugsch (February 24, 1842 – January 14, 1930) was a German Egyptologist whose career spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is known as the official who "evacuated" the mummies from the Deir el-Bahri Cache in 1881 without recording the plan of the tomb which has fuelled speculation that he was involved in the pilfering of antiquities. He was the assistant curator of the Bulaq Museum - the core element of what is today's Egyptian Museum.

Brugsch was born in Berlin, and was the brother of the Egyptologist Heinrich Karl Brugsch. He assisted author and occultist Aleister Crowley in 1904 by having the Stele of Revealing translated by his assistant. The Stele, and the translation, became integral parts of Crowley's subsequent writing of The Book of the Law and his founding of the philosophical practice and religion of Thelema. He is mentioned in The Temple of Heliopolis by Wm. J. Shaw, whom he assisted with the translation of hieroglyphics at the temple.

Brugsch threw on the rubbish heap an arm found in the tomb of Djer which Ancient Egyptians believed was the tomb of Osiris.[5] He has been described as leaving "behind him an evil reputation" through his dealings in Egypt.

Brugsch died in Nice, France, aged 87.

Regarded by many historians as Egypt’s most powerful pharaoh, Ramesses II reigned for six decades (c. 1279-1213 BCE), lived to be over 90 years old, and is said to have fathered upwards of 100 children. The mummy of Ramesses II (مومياء رمسيس الثاني), discovered in a secret royal cache (DB320) at Deir el-Bahri, is today housed in Cairo's Egyptian Museum. By the time of his death, aged about 90 years, Ramesses was suffering from severe dental problems and was plagued by arthritis and hardening of the arteries.

Overview

The mummy of Ramesses II is today in Cairo's Egyptian Museum. The pharaoh's mummy reveals an aquiline nose and strong jaw. It stands at about 1.7 meters (5 ft 7 in). His body was originally entombed in the Valley of the Kings, as was customary for a pharaoh, but ancient Egyptian priests later moved it to thwart rampant looters. In Abrahamic tradition, he is believed to be the Pharoah of Exodus.

Description of Gaston
circa 1279 BCE

Gaston Maspero, who first unwrapped the mummy of Ramesses II, writes, "on the temples, there are a few sparse hairs, but at the poll the hair is quite thick, forming smooth, straight locks about five centimeters in length. White at the time of death, and possibly auburn during life, they have been dyed a light red by the spices (henna) used in embalming...the mustache and beard are thin...The hairs are white, like those of the head and eyebrows...the skin is of earthy brown, splotched with black... the face of the mummy gives a fair idea of the face of the living king".

Original and Replacement Sarcophagus
circa 1279 BCE

The mummy of Ramesses was found in an ordinary wooden coffin (inspect) that belonged to another king. Wooden coffin lid of Rameses II (Usermaatra Setepenra, 1279-1213 BCE) of the 19th Dynasty from Deir el Bahari. Historians believe that Ramesses was entombed along with a vast quantity of gold and precious gems. But when his tomb was opened in the nineteenth century, it was found to be empty. The original sarcophagus of Rameses II was mummiform in outline and decorated inside and out with carved scenes and texts from the Book of Gates and the recumbent figure of the king stood out, in high relief, on the lid.

Egyptian Passport
circa 1279 BCE

In 1974 Egyptologists visiting his tomb noticed that the mummy's condition was rapidly deteriorating and in 1975 they flew it to Paris for examination. Ramesses II was issued an Egyptian passport that listed his occupation as "King (deceased)". The mummy was received at Paris–Le Bourget Airport with the full military honors befitting a king. The mummy was also forensically tested by Professor Pierre-Fernand Ceccaldi, the chief forensic scientist at the Criminal Identification Laboratory of Paris. Professor Ceccaldi determined that: "Hair, astonishingly preserved, showed some complementary data—especially about pigmentation: Ramses II was a ginger-haired 'cymnotriche leucoderma'."

Tomb KV7
circa 1279 BCE

Ramesses II the pharaoh had built a sumptuous tomb for himself in the Valley of the Kings (Tomb KV7) which reviled that of his illustrious father, Seti I (KV17). But because of looting, priests later transferred the body to a holding area, re-wrapped it, and placed it inside the tomb of queen Ahmose Inhapy. Tomb of Rameses II, the entrance to the fourth corridor descends further into the tomb towards a vestibule and the burial chamber. Seventy-two hours later it was again moved, to the tomb of the high priest Pinedjem II. All of this is recorded in hieroglyphics on the linen covering the body of the coffin of Ramesses II.

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