A talk by Ashley Cooke, Head of World Museum.
This exceptional example of ancient Egyptian royal clothing in the collections of World Museum (National Museums Liverpool) has been described in various ways since it first went on display in 1855—sometimes as a scarf, a belt, or a girdle. Tomb and temple paintings suggest it was worn wrapped around the chest and fastened at the waist. Woven in bright colours and decorated with rows of ankh hieroglyphs meaning "life," this remarkable textile is a masterpiece of ancient linen craftsmanship. This presentation will explore its provenance, interpretation, and manufacture, shedding new light on this rare archaeological survivor.
Ashley Cooke is Head of World Museum, home to one of the UK's largest and most significant collections of Egyptian antiquities. He has worked with Egyptian collections in museums for over twenty years and has over ten years of fieldwork experience at five archaeological sites across Egypt. He earned his PhD in Egyptology from the University of Liverpool in 2006, the same year he was appointed Curator of Egyptian and Near Eastern Antiquities at World Museum.