Exhibition : Momies

At the Musée de l'Homme

Through to May 25th, 2026.

In the heart of Paris, the Musée de l'Homme explores the roots and future of humanity through, in particular, beautiful thematic exhibitions.

The museum is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its reopening and invites the public to discover the captivating and mysterious world of mummies with its new event exhibition.

Since the rise of archaeology in the 18th century, Westerners' fascination with mummies has not waned. Objects of fascination and dread, they are very present in our imagination (literature, cinema, comics, advertising) and have conveyed many clichés and false ideas.

Nine mummified bodies, mostly preserved by the Museum, are presented to the public as part of the exhibition, accompanied by funerary objects, scientific documents, and contemporary artworks inspired by these traditions.

The exhibition, organised into four parts, explores the evolution of practices across diff erent eras and regions of the world, as well as the various ancestral rites and techniques of mummification. It also discusses the patrimonialization of mummified deceased and how museum collections were formed starting from the 18th century.

Finally, the exhibition reveals the study of mummified deceased, the research conducted around individuals. allowing us to understand how scientists manage to reconstruct the past through the study of mummified bodies.

Practiced on all continents for millennia, mummification reveals the desire for eternity

that has haunted humans since the dawn of time.

Affiche de l'exposition © DR

17 Place du Trocadéro

75016 Paris