Mummy Sliced

I am fascinated by this coming together of Archaeology and History, Science and Medicine, and Art.

What you see is an exhibit at the Ashmolean Museum. Lying nearby is the mummy of a boy who lived in Egypt nearly 2000 years ago. Using state-of-the-art CT scanning equipment at the John Radcliffe Hospital, a 2500-'slice' image was obtained of the human remains without disturbing the wrapping bandages. The CT-scan showed the body to be that of a boy aged about 2 years old, who most likely died of pneumonia; he had hip dysplasia and a rare dental condition affecting 0.4% of children today.

Using the CT images, artist Angela Palmer painted representative contours in ink on well over 100 glass plates. That is what you see in today's photograph. The nearly vertical lines on the left are the individual glass plates. Towards the right of the photograph, the lines fade out, and the image becomes darker, as the light has to pass through the dozens of intervening sheets of glass.

What an achievement in several ways!

I could not resist another photograph of a quite different exhibit just opposite the mummy. This is the Thames Heritage Tapestry. At least 240 schools along the length of the Thames have contributed to a single artwork, a multifaceted portrait of the river from its source to the estuary through the eyes of the children who live along its banks. The finished tapestry will reflect how the Thames has shaped and influenced the local communities it runs through. The panels that make up the tapestry are all very bright, lively, and amazingly imaginative.

I have chosen to show a photograph of one representative panel, and those who know me will understand why I have selected this one. They are made of real wool!

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all on this afternoon was that it appeared that Spring had arrived at the end of the first week of January. We were expecting that we might see some snowdrops, but we certainly did not anticipate that crocuses would already be in bloom all over the place in the gardens at St John's College

The witch-hazel trees that make such a pungent and wonderful smell have obviously been in bloom for some time. And the rosemary bushes are flowering in a way more associated with the Mediterranean at this time of year. And here is a Camellia Japonica, with its very fine flowers.

Perhaps this shot of an old tree, a favourite of ours, will show how nice the afternoon turned out to be.

More of the same, please!