Lady Madja

The tomb of Lady Madja was discovered in a cemetery in Western Thebes overlooking the valley of Deir el-Medina, behind the hill of Qurnet Mourai.

What is interesting about the tomb, is that the coffin of Lady Madja was the only depiction of funerary texts and scenes of offerings that the Egyptians believed to be essential to the deceased’s well-being in the afterlife. These images were usually adorning the tomb walls of the deceased, yet in some cases during the New Kingdom and later periods, the coffin itself became a vessel full of funerary texts and imagery. This could have been due to wealth reasons, or just preference. Tutankhamun’s death mask and other royal coffins do have funerary texts and protection spells also.

Lady Maja lived during the reign of Thutmose III, thus her coffin dates from the middle of the 18th Dynasty, c. 1479-1425 B.C.

Summary:
Coffin of Lady Madja
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Thutmose III, c. 1479-1425 B.C.
From Deir el-Medina.
Now at Musée du Louvre. E 14543