18

At the open foot end of Pakharkhonsu, Vienna inv. no. ÄS 5155 b, the 0.4–
0.65 cm thick cartonnage is separated in parts and consists of an inner and
an outer layer. For the incompletely preserved foot end of Her, Vienna inv.
no. ÄS 225, the separation is likewise visible (fig. 11).

3.2 THE BACK SLIT

After drying, the middle line for the slit was marked on the back, the holes
for later lacing were pierced on both sides and at the foot end using a pointed
 metal

tool.22

With a knife, the back was cut open and the cartonnage bent
to remove it from the mould core. As the cartonnage was still relatively damp,
the mould core could be removed from the back in pieces down to the inner
straw. The supporting wooden post with the rest was then drawn

out.23
For the reconstruction, initially only the upward-facing reverse of the horizontal
 cartonnage was prepared with a mixture of chalk and animal glue,
which makes the cartonnage flexible for inserting the mummy.
To close the back slit, on both sides starting from the head a string was drawn
through the punched holes in a running stich. A styrofoam mummy form was
covered on the surface with paper and paste and inserted into the cartonnage
 case. The slit was then closed using string, drawn in a zigzag through
the holes on both sides, and the base plate

attached.24
After the ground layer was complete, painting took place. Linen strips were
adhered over the lacing of the back slit and the edges of the foot end. On the
Heidelberg cartonnage, the foot panel is not preserved, but four-sided holes
on the front of the foot suggest the use of wooden

nails.25

22	 Krekeler 2007 (cit. n. 13), 25, figs. 29, 30.
23	 Ibid., 21 f., fig. 20.
24	 Ibid., 22–24, figs. 22, 25–27.
25	 Huhn 2009 (cit. n. 13), 287.

Elfriede Haslauer

Fig. 11: Inv. no. ÄS 225, back part with separation of the cartonnage at the foot end.