Ibis Mummy, 30 B.C.E.–100 C.E. Animal remains, resin, linen, 30 5/16 × 5 1/2 × 8 1/4 in. (77 × 14 × 21 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 14.655a-b. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Contact us at exhibitions@brooklynmuseum.org if you are interested in bringing this exhibition or others to your institution.
Soulful Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt
Soulful Creatures is the first major exhibition to focus on one of the most fascinating aspects of ancient Egyptian culture and religion—the mummification of animals. Drawing on the Brooklyn Museum’s renowned Egyptian collection, this presentation includes 30 mummies on display alongside 69 masterworks of Egyptian art related to the ritual use of animal mummies. While the exact significance of animal mummies has largely remained a mystery, this exhibition investigates the many provocative theories proposed to explain the practice, and offers dynamic presentations of its origins, techniques, and rituals, and of recent scientific tests that have uncovered key information about the methods used to create animal mummies.
Content: Approximately 100 objects
Size: Approximately 6,000 sq. ft.
Publication: Yes
Availability: Fall 2026
Curators: Yekaterina Barbash, Curator of Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art, and Edward Bleiberg, Curator Emeritus, Brooklyn Museum
Tour schedule
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland
September 27, 2025–January 11, 2026
Brooklyn Museum, New York
September 29, 2017–January 21, 2018
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Tennessee
October 25, 2014–January 18, 2015
Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, California
March 22–June 15, 2014