Bushey Museum stages Egypt exhibition

2:24pm Friday 1st February 2008

WATCHING my son repeatedly pull a fake mummy's brain out through its nose I marvelled at how hands-on Bushey Museum has become. As well as making a cartouche (an Egyptian name tag in hieroglyphs), my boy went on to remove the vital organs from the mummy and stuff them less than ceremoniously into the waiting coptic jars. He could also read about Egyptian life and do colourings while I walked around the display of art created by Myrtle Broome, who lived from 1907 in Bushey. A contemporary of Bertha Herkomer, the cousin of Sir Hubert, Myrtle gained a London University Certificate in Egyptology, studying under Flinders Petrie. From 1929 to 1935, she spent six months of every year at the temple of Seti I at Abydos in Egypt, recording the painted scenes and relief decoration. The work that she and the Egyptologist Amice Calverley carried out was published in four volumes by the Egyptian Exploration Society. On display are the first two volumes and a selection of more informal Egyptian pictures.

Managing curator David Wharlow explains that she created images of everyday life in her free time between working on the records. He says: "After working in hot, dark and dusty conditions she travelled around to relax. She had to be very accurate in terms of colour and size when drawing in the temples and conditions were cramped."

my boy went on to remove the vital organs from the mummy and stuff them into coptic jars

Melanie Dakin

Included in the exhibition are information boards about Egyptian life and a range of objects on loan from the Museum of St Albans, which were produced by Egyptian workers and craftsmen including amulets to ward off evil and shabtis, which were your workforce in the afterlife.

"It started with people having one or two shabtis to care for them in the afterlife, later they had 401," says David. "One for each day of the year and 36 overseers."

The exhibition at Bushey Museum runs until March and is open from Thursdays to Sundays, 11am to 4pm. Details: 020 8420 4057

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