Secrets of a temple singer

Jackie Loohauis-Bennett

Nov. 7, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- She may not have been a pharaoh, but she's as fascinating a mummy as King Tut.

Meresamun lived the mysterious but privileged life of a priestess/musician in the city of Thebes in Egypt about 800 B.C. Now visitors to Chicago's Oriental Institute Museum can meet "this remarkable woman and through her eyes learn what it was like to live in Egypt 2,800 years ago," says Emily Teeter, curator of the exhibit "The Life of Meresamun: A Temple Singer in Ancient Egypt."

The centerpiece of the show is the beautifully decorated coffin that contains the temple singer's mummy. But the exhibit reveals more about her life than just her death. The show details what CT scans told about her health, the quality of her everyday existence and her beauty. Sacred musical instruments she might have used are on display, and the exhibit even reveals her cosmetic secrets. The final meeting is face-to-face, as visitors get to see a scientific reconstruction of what Meresamun really looked like.

The show pairs with the Oriental Institute's unmatched permanent collection of objects from the ancient Near East that archaeologist-wannabes can view, everything from a colossal statue of Egypt's Tutankhamen to a 40-ton sculpture of a human-headed winged bull from Iraq.

The show runs through Dec. 6. at the museum, 1155 East 58th St., Chicago. For details call 773-702-9514 or visit oi.uchicago.edu.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0130-39532562