CASE OF THE MISSING MUMMY
A 2012 article in the
Orlando Sentinel prompted interest in visiting a man who had been constructing
his own Egyptian-themed mummy coffin over the course of twenty-five years. In anticipation of a prospective
rendezvous, questions began to surface.
What had inspired him to persevere laboriously, yet with vigor for so
many years, in spite of his own antiquity? How did family members and friends react to this type of
ongoing endeavor? Did he ever get
to a point of feeling like such absorption in its finite details was a bit of
overkill?
In February of 2015 when
plans were underway for a trip to Florida, an attempt to arrange a meeting with
him turned out to be in vain… because the ninety-two-year-old man had died in
January! What a
disappointment! His handiwork was
no longer a showpiece in his East Orlando garage, where it had attracted the attention of
media agents. Now this gem of creative construction was out of sight… but not
out of mind.
The only recourse for a
frustrated funerary aficionado was to visit the man’s grave where the finished
product had been buried. Maybe
there would be telltale signs of the unique receptacle that lay hidden from
public view under the ground.
Maybe the plot size would be larger than usual. Maybe at least the grave would be
festooned with Egyptian symbols of some sort.
Not one of these
postulations was true. Fred
Guentert’s gravesite looks like the others there at the Glen Haven Cemetery in
Winter Park where it is located.
A simple bronze grave marker
marks the burial site.
Actually, when this
craftsman made his end-of-life plans, though the burial container was elaborate
and he had garnered notoriety for it, he opted for simplicity and lack of
fanfare. There would be no viewing
or funeral. He wanted only to have
his body embalmed, wrapped in a shroud, and placed in the box he had finessed
to its completion. In spite of
disavowing an afterlife, his face would be covered by a fiberglass mask
depicting the Egyptian god of the afterlife, Osiris. The coffin was to be locked tightly with wooden dowels.
How often has anyone heard
someone declare that he wants to be buried in a mummy case? It must not have been a popular
yearning a few decades ago when Guentert was unable to find someone to build
one for him. And if he had, he
wouldn’t have been able to afford the cost of such customization. Fortunately, besides having been an
artist for the U.S. Postal Service, he was also a self-taught woodworker.
The catalyst for creating a
work of this nature was traced to a few of his lifetime hallmarks. A seed may have been planted in his
mind when at the age of eight he won second prize at a
YMCA hobby fair after building and submitting two small mummy boxes. Knowing that the year he was born, in
1922, was also when the tomb of King Tut (Tutankhamm), the Egyptian pharaoh,
was discovered, maybe the coincidental connection sparked his interest and eventual
absorption in ancient Egyptian lore. The preoccupation was sustained throughout his life, engendering
enchantment with the culture’s artistry to the extent of amassing dozens of
statues and miniature masks that were on display in his home.
His fascination was
manifested not only by the collection of treasures, but also by his extensive
knowledge about Egyptian gods and ruling dynasties. That was augmented by a trip to Egypt in his later years. A number of books he had collected,
which pertained to the country’s ancient history and cultural distinctions,
were tapped as resources for the coffin construction project.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
This inventive man with a
vision designed his ten-thousand-dollar magnum opus with precision. Exactness was executed using chisels,
files, and sandpaper for hand-carving maneuvers.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Decorative flair was
accentuated through hand-painted applications of paint in bold shades of red,
green, gold, and black.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Inside the cedar box there’s a full-sized depiction of
Nut – the goddess of sky.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Perhaps
oddly under these circumstances, the Eye of Horus – a symbol of protection,
power, and good health – peers out from the side. Similarly oxymoronic, Isis, the goddess of magic and giver
of life, is near the base.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Seemingly more germane is the presence of Osiris – god of the afterlife, the underworld
and the dead – featured on the lid.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Dowels and glue were used to unite and secure the pieces.
The motif epitomizes true
end-of-life personalization, as this industrious artist chose to incorporate elements
reflective of his predominant interests and persuasions. Amid the Egyptian components, he
included carvings indicative of his longtime membership in the Masons and the Shriners.
Since the mid-1980s when he
began working on it, the eventual three-hundred-pound, seven-foot-long reminder
of mortality reposed in two pieces within his home garage, which inevitably
became infiltrated with sawdust.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Occasionally, he “tried it on for size,” but only when his wife wasn’t
looking and wouldn’t witness him bedding down in this blatant representation of
destiny.
This eye-catcher that could
rival any memorial structures situated above graves is no longer a visible
attraction. Instead, it is
underground with the remains of its originator. Eventually, the one-of-a-kind replica of historical
substance will disintegrate into the soil. But there is no need now for anyone to gawk at it, for it
has already served its purpose. An
aspect of a person’s life story was told through its materialization. It was an affirmation of his personal
uniqueness. The man’s sense of
purposeful engagement in its progressive development probably contributed to
his zest for living. Though hidden from view, for anyone who knew about this showpiece,
it continues to be a testament to an individual’s spirit and his capacity to
exercise it in a productive and meaningful manner. This functional rendering of art was his work of heart.
References:
YouTube Video: Florida man takes 25 years to build Egyptian coffin (Jon Busdeker, videographer and reporter)
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