Marie Vandenbeusch, curator of Egyptian exhibitions at the British Museum: "I prefer Brendan Fraser's mummy to Tom Cruise's"

Marie Vandenbeusch (Geneva, 42 years old) is a singularly happy person to spend the day surrounded by mummies, as she has been doing lately.

Curator of projects in the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the British Museum in London, and responsible with her colleague Daniel Antoine, chief curator of the same department and bioarchaeologist, of the extraordinary exhibition

, which is now exhibited ( until March 26, 2023) at the CaixaForum in Barcelona after meeting at the one in Madrid, keeps smiling while supervising that great selection from beyond the grave made up of the embalmed bodies of Ameniryirt, Nesperennub, Penamunnbnesuttawy, Takhenemet and two anonymous young mummies.

Ask.

The mummies do not give her a bad vibe, and she is worth the expression.

Response.

No, they don't seem sinister to me at all if that's what you mean.

I never distance myself from the fact that they are people.

In recent years our way of looking at them has changed a lot.

With great respect, yes, but without false myths.

They are the bodies of human beings like us and the exhibition wants to make it understood and emphasize that we are talking about people, not objects.

It is a sample about six people and the investigations that have been done to reveal their lives.

We have tried to bring the past into the present, to establish a direct connection.

Q.

State-of-the-art technology has been used to study these mummies without disturbing them.

A.

Yes, non-invasive systems, very special, state-of-the-art scanners.

They are new tools, help to better understand the mummies.

But we wanted that technological aspect not to distort, but on the contrary, the experience of understanding that we are dealing with human beings, that the exhibition breathe humanity.

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Q.

The truth is that it is very emotional to meet these ancient Egyptians.

R.

I'm glad it's like that.

There is something unique in each one of them.

All their stories are touching.

Q.

Especially that of the child and the youngster.

A.

Yes. They are sad stories, but they tell us how easy it was to die in childhood in the Ancient Egyptians.

The objects that are exhibited next to the mummies are very exciting as well.

My favorite is a toy horse, very similar to one I had as a child.

Q. How do you get from Switzerland to Egypt?

A. As a child I was interested in Ancient Egypt by a family friend.

And in Geneva the Museum of Art and History, which is a bit like the British one, has a good Egyptian collection in which many Swiss children discovered that civilization.

At 17 I went to Egypt...

Q.

Was it a

R.

It is always a

a wonderful experience.

Then I went a lot, to Egypt and Sudan, and I still do regularly, not as much as I would like.

To excavate, in northern Sudan, in Amara Occidental, an Egyptian city of the New Kingdom in Kush (Nubia), 20 kilometers from Semma.

Q.

Is it hard?

R.

It was, the conditions have improved a lot.

Although my first love is museums, I love digging, because it's a unique way to see where objects come from, where they were created.

An essential experience in my work.

Q.

The British Museum is a place that seems full of ancient secrets, what is it like to work there?

R.

It is a very scientific place.

Sorry to kill the mystery.

The secrets are in the objects, which are under permanent study and have yet to reveal many things.

But there is nothing esoteric or mystical.

On the other hand, I am not a person very given to that.

Q.

Better for dealing with mummies, right?

A.

I understand that movies and novels make people interested in Ancient Egypt.

I also like them if they are well made.

Q.

Wow, if you have to choose, Brendan Fraser's mummy or Tom Cruise's?

Imhotep or Ahmanet?

R.

Hahaha, I prefer Brendan Fraser's, it's more fun.

Q.

Is there pressure on the British Museum because of the whole issue of returns?

R.

There is debate, but in reality there has always been.

Q.

What is your personal opinion?

R.

It depends on each object, each one has its history.

It is very delicate.

In any case, it is not for me to give an answer.

Q.

Obligatory question, what do you think of the hypothesis of the secret chambers in the tomb of Tutankhamen?

R.

I see very interesting aspects and, let's be honest, the normal tomb of Tutankhamun is not.

Nothing can be excluded.

But you have to wait and see.

It's time to be patient.

What is not prohibited is dreaming.

Q.

How have the mummies traveled?

Don't tell me that by passenger plane.

A.

Yes, the next time you take one, think that you might be flying in the company of Egyptian mummies.

Q.

Well, it's like remembering what precisely happens to Tom Cruise when he flies with his.

By the way, speaking of bad mummies, the last time we saw each other was next to the so-called

that you exhibit in her museum. Is there any news about her?

R.

None, you can rest easy.

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