Coffin of Priestess Iawttayesheret
This is the coffin lid of a woman named, Iawttayesheret (also known as Tayesheret), who lived during Egypt’s 25th Dynasty, c. 722-655 B.C. Iawttayesheret was the daughter of Padikhnum and Tadiaset.
Iawttayesheret held the title of The Divine Adoratrice of Amun, which was a title given to those secondary to the God’s Wife of Amun. Essentially, Divine Adoratrice of Amun was a title bestowed upon the chief priestess of Amun. This indicates that Iawttayesheret held a very important place in society, and the quality of her coffins represent that.
“The massive outer coffin is made of long planks with minimal embellishment, in order to highlight the surface of the wood. The wig, the floral broad collar, and a single column of text comprise the only decoration. As on the inner coffin, the wig is surmounted by a vulture headdress and fillet. A solar disk between a pair of crowned uraei appears on the crown of the head. The inscription records the name, titles, and filiation of the deceased. On the base of the coffin, there is no decoration other than a line of text around the circumference. In several places, mud plaster was applied to mask knots in the wood or joins between boards. The spare, elegant figure of the goddess of the west assumes her customary place on the bottom of the case.
It seems that Iawttayesheret owned a three-part nested set of coffins. In addition to the two cases at the Carlos, fragments of her outer coffin have been located at the Medelhausmuseet in Stockholm. The fragments are from the cornerpost of the outermost coffin, indicating that it was of the vaulted, rectangular variety popular during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty.”
The coffin now resides at the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Atlanta, USA. 1999.001.008 B
Priestesses in Ancient Egypt
In Ancient Egypt, priestesses moved with reverence and rhythm through temple courts and sacred halls, their linen robes rustling like whispers of the gods. These women, often chosen from noble or elite families, were no ordinary attendants, they were the earthly hands and voices of the divine, charged with the sacred duties of service to deities such as Hathor, Isis, Mut, and the great Amun himself. As early as the Old Kingdom, and flourishing especially during the Middle and New Kingdom (c. 2000 –1100 B.C.), female priestesses held esteemed titles such as Chantress of Amun or God’s Wife, roles that blended ceremony, music, and mystery in equal measure.
Their responsibilities were as varied as they were mystical. By day, they might tend to the inner sanctuaries of the temple, presenting offerings, anointing statues with precious oils, and purifying altars with natron and incense. By night (or in hushed moments before dawn) they sang sacred hymns, their voices echoing through hypostyle halls in praise of the god’s return with the rising sun. Some, like the God’s Wives of Amun, wielded immense religious and even political power, acting as consorts of the god in ritual, and at times wielding influence equal to viziers and kings. Cloaked in perfumed smoke and divine purpose, these women guarded the arcane rites passed down from one veiled generation to the next, mysteries whispered, never written, locked within the shadows of pylons and papyrus alike.
It was a life suspended between worlds: part earthly devotion, part celestial channel. In the soft glow of temple lamps and the roar of festival processions, the priestesses of Ancient Egypt kept the divine breath flowing through the land of the Nile, their every act a dance with the eternal.
