Ohio History Journal

J. MORTON HOWELL

 

HIS GIFT TO THE MUSEUM OF THE OHIO STATE ARCHAEO-

LOGICAL SOCIETY

 

When Egypt had attained the degree of indepen-

dence that entitled her to an envoy extraordinary and a

minister plenipotentiary from the United States, Presi-

dent Harding made a survey to determine who would

be best suited to inaugurate diplomatic relations between

our country and the ancient seat of civilization in the

Valley of the Nile. Very naturally such a person was

found among the native sons of Ohio. Dr. J. Morton

Howell, of Dayton, was first appointed diplomatic agent

and consular general for Egypt, October 7, 1921. He

was afterwards promoted to the position of minister.

The following facts in regard to the life of J. Morton

Howell are gleaned from Who's Who in America. He

was born at Uniopolis, Auglaize County, March 17,

1863, and is the son of Joseph Giles and Jane (Miller)

Howell. He was graduated from Starling Medical Col-

lege, Columbus, Ohio, in 1885, and has received the fol-

lowing honorary degrees: M. A., Ohio Northern Uni-

versity, Ada, Ohio, 1896; LL. D., Otterbein University,

Westerville, Ohio, 1922. He traveled in Europe and did

post-graduate work. He practiced medicine in Wash-

ington C. H., Ohio, and in Dayton, Ohio, since 1896,

specializing in surgery. While at the latter place he was

president of the board of medical examiners for the Na-

tional Military Home, Dayton. He has been Fellow

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J. Morton Howell               323

A. M. A., of the Ohio State Medical Society. He is mar-

ried and has two children. Recently he resigned his po-

sition in Egypt because of the illness of his wife and

is now with her in California.

While in Egypt, he succeeded in establishing very

friendly relations between that country and the United

States. Naturally he became deeply interested in the

archaeology and early history of the Land of the

Pharaohs. He was one of four representatives of for-

eign nations present at the formal opening of the tomb

of Tut-Ankh-Amen and has been accorded special

favors at the opening of other tombs less famous but

scarcely less interesting.

The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical So-

ciety, of which Dr. Howell has been made a life member,

is under special obligations to him for a mummy that he

secured in Egypt for the Society and which is now on

exhibition in its Museum. Not only did Dr. Howell pro-

cure this important exhibit but he had a famous Egyp-

tologist translate the inscriptions. on the sarcophagus.

We reproduce these with a description of the mummy

from a communication received from Dr. Howell him-

self.

EGYPTIAN MUMMY AND SARCOPHAGUS

This Egyptian Mummy, and the sarcophagus in which it re-

poses, was taken from an acropolis of Thebes, Upper Egypt, and

belongs to the Ptolemaic, or possibly the Roman Period of Egyp-

tian History, about 700 B. C.

The mummy is that of a woman, by name Nasi-Khonsou-Pa-

Khrodou, familiarly known as Nibit-Pi, meaning "the Mistress

of the House," signifying a woman of the better class of Egyp-

tian society. Her father, Abaka-Khonsou, (or more correctly,

Baka-ni-Khonsou), was a guardian of the Temple of Amon, at

Karnak.

Upon the bottom of the sarcophagus, inside and beneath the

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J. Morton Howell                  325 mummy, is a painting, in colors, representing the Goddess Amentit, guardian of the region of the dead. A tracing of this, in natural size and colors, may be seen in the Museum near the mummy. The inscriptions on the sarcophagus are religious texts, for the protection of the deceased. Their translations appear on sep- arate labels. The inscription on the sarcophagus reads: "Decreed by Harmakhis, Lord of Heaven, Lord Paramount of the Gods; by Sibou, Prince of Divine Beings; by Atoum, Lord of Heliopolis; by Sokar-Osiris, Lord of the Burial; Giver of all offerings and provisions and of all good things, pure and pleasant, by which a God lives. "Concerning the Double of the wife of Osiris, Mistress of the Dower, Nasi-ni-Khonsou-Pa-Khrodou, with a just voice, daughter of the Guardian of the Temple of Amon, Baka-ni-Khon- sou and of whom the mother is Hari-Tooui." The inscription on the lid of the sarcophagus reads: "De- creed by Harmakhis, the Great God, Lord of the Orient; giver of all offerings and all provisions for the wife of Osiris, Mistress of the Dower Nasi-ni-Khonsou-Pa-Khrodou, her mother, Mistress of the House, Hari-Tooui."

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