Coffinmid-21st Dynasty (about 1000 - 968 BCE)

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Anthropoid Egyptian coffin lid viewed from above, showing painted interior with a standing winged deity figure, hieroglyphic columns, and smaller divine figures on a deep red ground

Painted Egyptian funerary panel on ochre ground, depicting two figures flanking a central djed pillar hung with beaded strands: a seated figure in elaborate collar and headdress at left, and a standing jackal-headed figure at right with arms raised, wearing striped kilt. Rows of hieroglyphs in green, red, and black fill the surrounding registers, with a wedjat eye and canopic chest below.

Painted Egyptian coffin panel with ochre background, depicting a falcon-headed figure at left facing a seated deity with a winged scarab above, attended by a standing figure at right holding an ankh; columns of hieroglyphs flank both sides, with wedjat eyes and a checkered platform below.

Painted Egyptian funerary panel on an ochre ground, divided into two registers bordered by columns of hieroglyphs. Upper register depicts a solar barque carrying a falcon-headed figure with a sun disk, flanked by winged figures. Lower register shows standing deity figures with animal heads, ankh symbols, and a recumbent figure at bottom center, rendered in black, green, red, and white pigments.

Painted Egyptian coffin panel on ochre ground, depicting a large sycamore fig tree rendered as a dense cluster of dark green dots, with a human figure emerging from the trunk offering to a ba-bird below; a winged figure with an Eye of Horus hovers above. Hieroglyphic columns border both sides. Offerings including baskets and produce arranged along the bottom register.

Painted Egyptian coffin panel on an ochre ground, depicting a spotted sacred cow with solar disk and horns, accompanied by a winged serpent, a seated jackal-headed figure, and hieroglyphic registers in green, black, and red. Surface shows areas of flaking and loss.

Painted wooden mummy coffin with a carved face wearing a striped blue-and-gold nemes headdress, hands crossed at the chest, and a body covered in dense polychrome registers depicting winged figures, hieroglyphic text columns, and Egyptian deities in red, blue, black, and gold.

Painted wooden anthropoid coffin lid, upper portion, with a human face framed by a dark blue striated wig and striped headdress. Polychrome decoration includes a broad collar of concentric bands, crossed hands at the chest, and densely painted registers of Egyptian hieroglyphs and figures in red, green, gold, and black.

Painted wooden coffin, lower section, densely decorated with Egyptian hieroglyphs and figural registers in blue, green, red, and black on a golden ground; winged scarab and spread-winged figures at top, with columns of hieroglyphic text and seated deities arranged in horizontal bands below.

Painted wooden mummy coffin lid with a sculpted human face wearing a striped nemes headdress and broad collar. The body is decorated with polychrome registers of hieroglyphic inscriptions, winged figures, and standing deities in red, green, blue, and gold against a warm ochre ground.

Painted cartonnage mummy mask with gilded face, dark striped nemes headdress with red and green banded diadem, and green-outlined eyes with kohl markings; broad collar with geometric and figural painted decoration visible at lower edge.

Title: Coffin
Place Made: Egypt, likely Thebes
Date Made: mid-21st Dynasty (about 1000 - 968 BCE)
Medium: Wood, gesso, polychrome and yellow varnish
Dimensions: Base: 73 3/4 x 21 1/2 x 13 in. (187.33 x 54.61 x 33.02 cm); Outer Lid: 74 1/4 x 21 3/4 x 14 in. (188.59 x 55.24 x 35.56 cm); Inner Lid: 69 1/8 x 16 5/8 x 4 1/4 in. (175.58 x 42.23 x 10.79 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. John Jewett Garland
Accession Number: M.47.3a-c
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Egyptian Art
Curatorial Notes: Major changes to funerary customs occurred during the 21st Dynasty, when the priests of Amun assumed rule over Egypt. Common burials in a simple rock-cut crevice or undecorated chamber supplanted the large decorated tombs of the New Kingdom, and the coffin’s surfaces replaced tomb chamber walls as the site of ornate scenes and compact text arrangements. This yellow-varnished anthropoid coffin, constructed of sycamore wood, is both an encyclopedic reference to Egyptian funerary traditions and an exquisite example of the high level of artistry achieved by the draftsman and scribe. The base is accompanied by an inner coffin lid and an outer lid that fits directly on the ensemble. The exterior surfaces of all components are painted in fine, minute detail. The yellow ground was applied first, followed by the red-outlined figures, hieroglyphs, and other details, then the light and dark green (now appearing as light blue). The yellow varnish is characteristic of 21st Dynasty coffins, as is the sculpted rendering of the hands. Like other examples from this period, the coffin base lacks a name inscription, and the two lids each display a blank area within the texts near the footboard. Such anonymous coffins point to the existence of workshops that produced standardized funerary goods.

The figure on the outer lid wears a dense tripartite wig with a floral headband. The plaited beard, while also a reference to the funerary god Osiris, likely identifies the coffin as that of a male. Below the hands are seven horizontal registers of decoration representing the gods of the Osirian myth and the cult of Re. The dominant images of Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, Anubis, and Nut are surrounded by solar imagery in the form of scarabs, ram-headed scarabs, falcons, and sun disks. The deceased, dressed in linen, makes offerings to Osiris and Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. The prayer inscriptions to the various deities request offerings for the deceased. The inner lid, or mummy board, is similarly decorated with scenes and substantial jewelry but lacks the braided beard.

The seventeen vignettes arranged around the base exterior provide much detail about the Egyptian pantheon of gods and concepts of the afterlife. Included are several episodes from the Book of the Dead. On the left, a falcon head identifies Re’s solar boat, which will transport the deceased across the heavens and into the underworld. The Weighing of the Heart scene depicts a sequence of events designed to test the worthiness of the deceased to enter the realm of Osiris. At the far left, the deceased, wearing a transparent pleated garment, is led by a cat-headed goddess holding a crook. Next, the god of writing, the ibis-headed Thoth, stands poised to record the verdict. The deceased’s heart (with two eyes above) is balanced on the scale against a small figure of Ma’at, goddess of truth, while the scale is adjusted by the jackal-headed god Anubis, guardian of the cemetery. If the deceased passes this test, he will meet Osiris; if not, he will be consumed by the “devourer,” the composite beast poised at the step to the right. The interior of the coffin base depicts the goddess Nut standing on a gold necklace with a text describing her role in the delivery of future food offerings.

Related Unframed

Coffinmid-21st Dynasty (about 1000 - 968 BCE)

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Title: Coffin
Place Made: Egypt, likely Thebes
Date Made: mid-21st Dynasty (about 1000 - 968 BCE)
Medium: Wood, gesso, polychrome and yellow varnish
Dimensions: Base: 73 3/4 x 21 1/2 x 13 in. (187.33 x 54.61 x 33.02 cm); Outer Lid: 74 1/4 x 21 3/4 x 14 in. (188.59 x 55.24 x 35.56 cm); Inner Lid: 69 1/8 x 16 5/8 x 4 1/4 in. (175.58 x 42.23 x 10.79 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. John Jewett Garland
Accession Number: M.47.3a-c
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Egyptian Art
Curatorial Notes: Major changes to funerary customs occurred during the 21st Dynasty, when the priests of Amun assumed rule over Egypt. Common burials in a simple rock-cut crevice or undecorated chamber supplanted the large decorated tombs of the New Kingdom, and the coffin’s surfaces replaced tomb chamber walls as the site of ornate scenes and compact text arrangements. This yellow-varnished anthropoid coffin, constructed of sycamore wood, is both an encyclopedic reference to Egyptian funerary traditions and an exquisite example of the high level of artistry achieved by the draftsman and scribe. The base is accompanied by an inner coffin lid and an outer lid that fits directly on the ensemble. The exterior surfaces of all components are painted in fine, minute detail. The yellow ground was applied first, followed by the red-outlined figures, hieroglyphs, and other details, then the light and dark green (now appearing as light blue). The yellow varnish is characteristic of 21st Dynasty coffins, as is the sculpted rendering of the hands. Like other examples from this period, the coffin base lacks a name inscription, and the two lids each display a blank area within the texts near the footboard. Such anonymous coffins point to the existence of workshops that produced standardized funerary goods.

The figure on the outer lid wears a dense tripartite wig with a floral headband. The plaited beard, while also a reference to the funerary god Osiris, likely identifies the coffin as that of a male. Below the hands are seven horizontal registers of decoration representing the gods of the Osirian myth and the cult of Re. The dominant images of Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, Anubis, and Nut are surrounded by solar imagery in the form of scarabs, ram-headed scarabs, falcons, and sun disks. The deceased, dressed in linen, makes offerings to Osiris and Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. The prayer inscriptions to the various deities request offerings for the deceased. The inner lid, or mummy board, is similarly decorated with scenes and substantial jewelry but lacks the braided beard.

The seventeen vignettes arranged around the base exterior provide much detail about the Egyptian pantheon of gods and concepts of the afterlife. Included are several episodes from the Book of the Dead. On the left, a falcon head identifies Re’s solar boat, which will transport the deceased across the heavens and into the underworld. The Weighing of the Heart scene depicts a sequence of events designed to test the worthiness of the deceased to enter the realm of Osiris. At the far left, the deceased, wearing a transparent pleated garment, is led by a cat-headed goddess holding a crook. Next, the god of writing, the ibis-headed Thoth, stands poised to record the verdict. The deceased’s heart (with two eyes above) is balanced on the scale against a small figure of Ma’at, goddess of truth, while the scale is adjusted by the jackal-headed god Anubis, guardian of the cemetery. If the deceased passes this test, he will meet Osiris; if not, he will be consumed by the “devourer,” the composite beast poised at the step to the right. The interior of the coffin base depicts the goddess Nut standing on a gold necklace with a text describing her role in the delivery of future food offerings.