Rope

Elbert E. Farman served as Consul-General to Cairo, Egypt at the end of the nineteenth century and was instrumental in the steps leading to the arrival of Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park. During his tenure in Egypt, he accompanied General Grant along the Nile and visited numerous sites. In his memoir, "Along the Nile," he describes the circumstances of acquiring this piece during an excursion with Professor Ward, whose extensive collection of scarabs was later donated to the Met. The two men have heard about caves containing great numbers of crocodile-mummies not far from Assyut and decided to visit the site. Farman notes that the distance from the entrance to the cave was quite considerable: "The passage was small, nowhere high enough to permit standing erect. In some places, it was necessary to go on hands and knees, or crawl like a snake. I moved as fast as possible and found on reaching the Professor, that I also had occupied sixteen minutes in entering." Upon entering, they saw numerous mummies, each carefully wrapped in cloth held in place by small cords. Some of the mummies were put together making bundles and others were fastened to palm branches with strong cords. Local men, according to Farman, were selling these relics to Nile travelers, and he himself brought back with him a number of bundles of small mummies, a quantity of the cloth and some of the cords, like this very piece.
Niv Allon 2016

Collection of Judge Elbert E. Farman, formed when he was U.S. consul general in Egypt 1876–84. Donated to the museum by Darius Ogden Mills, New York, in 1904.