Rascar Capac The Mummy – Figurines Tintin La Collection Officielle – 93 – Rascar Capac La Momie

Author: Hergé & Editions Moulinsart
Price: £70
Publisher: Editions Moulinsart
Publication date: 2015
Format: Original pictorial boards with passport and figurine
Condition: In near fine condition
Illustrations: Illustrated throughout

Description:

Original pictorial boards. Includes passport loosely inserted. Text in French. Includes the accompanying figurine. One from the collection of 111 books and figurines. Very slight wear. In very near fine, clean condition overall.

Rascar Capac: A Short Biography

Rascar Capac is the ancient Inca monarch whose mummy lies at the centre of The Seven Crystal Balls (Les Sept Boule de Cristal, 1948) and its direct sequel Prisoners of the Sun (Le Temple du Soleil, 1949).

Though long dead, Rascar Capac’s presence dominates the narrative. He represents the enduring power of the past and the moral reckoning that follows the desecration of sacred heritage. His figure marks a turning point in Hergé’s art: a shift from exotic adventure to psychological and spiritual depth.

Character Overview

Origins and Narrative Function

1. The Discovery and the Curse

A group of European archaeologists, the Sanders-Hardiman expedition, unearth the tomb of Rascar Capac in the Andes and transport his mummy to Europe for exhibition. Soon after, each member of the team falls victim to a bizarre illness — a coma induced after a crystal sphere explodes into a cloud of vapour.

The curse is attributed to Rascar Capac and the priests of the Sun, who avenge the plundering of their sacred relics. Tintin and Captain Haddock are drawn into the mystery when Professor Calculus becomes the latest victim after handling a fragment of the mummy’s jewellery.

2. The Dream Sequence

One of the most haunting moments in the entire Tintin canon occurs when Tintin dreams of Rascar Capac entering his bedroom.
The mummy hurls a burning crystal ball that shatters at Tintin’s feet — an image that fuses realism, mysticism, and dread.

This scene demonstrates Hergé’s ability to transcend comic-strip conventions: the clear-line drawing style contrasts sharply with the horror of the vision, producing an effect both beautiful and unsettling.

3. The Sequel – Prisoners of the Sun

Tintin and Haddock travel to Peru to rescue Calculus and uncover the truth behind the curse. They learn that Rascar Capac’s descendants and the followers of the Sun have preserved their ancient faith in secret, administering justice to those who violated the tomb.

While Rascar Capac himself never reappears, his memory pervades the story. He becomes the bridge between the living and the dead, reminding readers that cultural sacrilege carries moral consequence.

Symbolism and Themes

1. Colonial Guilt and Cultural Justice

Rascar Capac embodies the moral backlash against Western appropriation. The scientists who removed his remains acted in the name of knowledge, yet their punishment reveals the blindness of colonial arrogance.
Hergé, who had earlier romanticised exploration, now offers a critique: the civilised world has no right to despoil the sacred.

2. The Power of the Past

The mummy’s retribution transcends time, suggesting that history is never truly buried. Rascar Capac is less a monster than a guardian of memory — the voice of a civilisation silenced but not forgotten.

3. Fear and the Supernatural

The curse introduces a subtle horror rarely seen in Tintin. Hergé plays with the boundaries between rational investigation and supernatural punishment. Tintin’s dream is psychological as well as mystical: the embodiment of collective guilt and fear.

4. Order Restored through Respect

By the end of Prisoners of the Sun, harmony is restored only when Tintin shows humility before the Inca priests and acknowledges the sacred laws of their culture.
The moral resolution transforms Rascar Capac’s vengeance into justice, not cruelty.

Artistic and Cultural Significance

• Design: Rascar Capac’s mummy is based on authentic Andean artefacts and 1930s museum photographs, illustrating Hergé’s increasing dedication to ethnographic accuracy.
• Visual Power: The cracked wrappings, the crown, and the skeletal grin make him one of the most memorable images in European comics.
• Influence: The figure inspired later depictions of cursed mummies in popular culture and remains central to Tintin iconography.

Psychological Reading

Hergé’s choice of a mummy as antagonist reflects his fascination with mortality, guilt, and the persistence of conscience.
Rascar Capac is not merely the “monster” of the story but a projection of Western fear: the fear of retribution from the cultures it has wronged.

The dream sequence, placed within the familiar domestic space of Tintin’s room, turns historical guilt into personal anxiety — suggesting that the consequences of wrongdoing are internal as well as external.

Summary

Conclusion

Rascar Capac stands among Hergé’s most enduring creations — a figure who never speaks yet whose presence defines two of Tintin’s finest adventures.
He is less a villain than a moral force, haunting the modern world with the voice of history.

Through him, Hergé moved beyond simple adventure into the realm of ethical allegory, asking readers to recognise that knowledge without respect leads to destruction, and that even a silent mummy can demand justice for the forgotten dead.

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Cataloguer: Daniel Hornsey

Daniel Hornsey has specialised in fine and rare books, ephemera, and collectors’ editions for over thirty years. As a long-standing member of the antiquarian book trade, he has advised private collectors, curated catalogues, and sourced works for leading dealers, libraries and institutions across the world.

Hornseys’ exhibit regularly at book and map fairs in London and throughout the UK and are members of the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association, the PBFA.

His fascination with Hergé’s work — especially ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ — began in childhood. Daniel recalls reading Tintin in original European editions and quickly recognising that these were not merely children’s books, but finely illustrated narratives crafted with artistic depth and wit.

As noted by the Musée Hergé in Louvain-la-Neuve, Hergé’s ‘ligne claire’ style has influenced generations of European comic artists and his original drawings and paintings command very high prices with his painting of ‘The Blue Lotus’ jar fetching £2.8m at auction in 2021.

By presenting these works through Hornseys’, he hopes to contribute to the continued appreciation of one of the 20th century’s most influential illustrators, helping new generations discover the artistry and legacy of Hergé.