THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA

...or at least the mummified cat who came to the Friends coffee morning

Derby Museums Friend, Stephen Marley, reflects on the Friends coffee morning on Thursday 2nd March 2023

There is a corner of Derby that is forever Egypt. That corner is where The Strand and Cheapside meet, up a double flight of stairs inside Derby Museum and Art Gallery. A week ago, I walked into the Derby Museums Friends’ coffee morning on the ground floor, greeted at the café entrance by the delightful Laura Dudley, Derby Museums’ Fundraising, Membership and Events Coordinator. It was only my second experience of a Friends’ event but, aside from befriending the Museum, I had already made a couple of friends at the first meeting and was about to make four more at the second. Derby Museums Friends are, indeed, friendly!

After chatting over a cappuccino for an hour, I headed up to the first floor with the merry throng to see the Egyptian collection carefully laid out on an expansive table by Co-production Curator, Rachel Atherton. The first exhibit I noticed was a mummified cat, the star of the show. The cat was of course out of bounds, but we were able to handle other items including scarabs/khepris and shabtis (miniature effigies of servants entombed with their master/mistress). Rachel’s description of the various Egyptian items was comprehensive and illuminating.

Rachel then introduced us to the two Egyptian mummies in Derby Museums’ collection: Pypylw, a Theban priest, and a second, nameless mummy. I first remember seeing Pypylw when I was two years old, many decades ago, and that thought reminded me that the word ‘museum’ means ‘shrine of the Muses’, dating back to the lost Museum and Library of Alexandria. A shrine dedicated to the Nine Muses that inspire men and women to create and explore, as much in modernday Derby as in Ptolemaic Egypt.

Are you interested in helping to shape the Derby Museums Friends Programme? Find out about the steering group.

The Derby Museums Friends steering group are committed to promoting, growing and shaping the Friends community. They meet three times a year to provide feedback on the programme and help to shape future talks, events and socials by giving the Friends an active voice in conversations with the fundraising team.

We would love to hear from you if you are interested in being part of the steering group!

To register your interest please get in touch with Individual Giving Officer, Helena Smith Parucker on helena@derbymuseums.org