A Bulb of Narcissus on the Egyptian Mummy from University of Wrocław Collection

Abstract

The object of the present study is the ancient bulb of the narcissus found on the mummy, probably of the Ptolemaic period, brought to Wrocław from Italy in the sixteenth century AD. For about four hundred years the mummy was kept by the successive owners of one of pharmacies in Wrocław, and after the World War II became the possession of Wrocław University. Computed tomography made in 2002 revealed an atypical object lying under the left hand of the mummy. Extracted in 2004 it appeared to be the bulb of a flower, and botanical analysis has revealed that it represents the Narcissus tazetta L. species. Although the narcissus was known in Egypt, its identification in the ancient sources has never been attempted. Thanks to the analysis of the bio-medical properties of the narcissus, compared with some descriptions of remedies proposed by the medical papyri Ebers and Hearts, as well as with some religious magical texts an identification of the sennut plant with narcissus is proposed here.

Keywords

• Ptolemaic Egypt
• Egyptian mummy
• flower bulb
• Narcissus tazetta L.
• medical papyri
• Nefertum