TOLEDO — Two mummies are going on view again at the Toledo Museum of Art.

While the mummies — a young priest and an old man — have been on exhibit before, they were taken off due to conservation and ethical reasons.

“There are really two primary points to that. One is conservation. They are very fragile human remains and part of the reason why the Toledo Museum of Art started taking them off of regular view in the 1970s, particularly the Mummy of a Young Priest, and then in the 1990s, the Mummy of an Old Man, we saw things like flaking and other things,” said Mike Deetsch, director of education and engagement.

“Aside from the conservation is also the question around the ethics of displaying human remains and whether or not organizations, like art museums in particular, should be displaying human remains. The question comes up whether or not they are considered art objects,” Deetsch said.

The museum is eager to turn this exhibit into a conversation about these issues.

“Part of the reason why we are putting them back on view is that these are two of the more popular objects from The Toledo Museum of Art collection. People come back all the time and say ‘where are the mummies, we’d like to see them,’” said Deetsch.

“The other side of this is we thought this was a good opportunity to really pose these oral conservation and ethical questions around the display of human remains. We want to know from our visitors if they think these remains should be here and if so tell us why, and if not tell us why. So I’m really hoping, and the museum is really hoping this is going to be a two-way conversation.”

Florence Scott Libbey (1863-1938) on a camel in Egypt in 1906. She traveled with her husband, Edward Drummond Libbey, the founder of Libbey Glass Company and the Toledo Museum of Art.

http://www.limaohio.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2018/02/web1_Egypt-Mummy-6.jpgFlorence Scott Libbey (1863-1938) on a camel in Egypt in 1906. She traveled with her husband, Edward Drummond Libbey, the founder of Libbey Glass Company and the Toledo Museum of Art. Courtesy of the Toledo Museum of Art

Egyptian, Dynasty 19–20 (1314–1085 BCE), Shabti. Polychromed wood. H. 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm). Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey.

http://www.limaohio.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/54/2018/02/web1_1906_36smaller.jpgEgyptian, Dynasty 19–20 (1314–1085 BCE), Shabti. Polychromed wood. H. 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm). Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey. Courtesy of the Toledo Museum of Art

Reach Merri Hanjora at 567-242-0511.