Middle Coffin of Tutankhamun
The burial of Tutankhamun was remarkable not merely for its golden splendour but also for the unusual arrangement of his coffins. Within the stone sarcophagus rested a set of three anthropoid coffins, nested one inside the other like precious reliquaries, each fashioned with exquisite craftsmanship and layered symbolism.
The second coffin, which encased the innermost solid gold coffin, is an object of extraordinary artistry. Made primarily of gilded wood, it is inlaid with multicoloured glass paste and semi-precious stones, giving it the appearance of shimmering enamel. The figure of the youthful king is shown in idealised form, his serene visage framed by the striped nemes-headdress, with the royal uraeus and vulture emblems upon his brow signifying dominion over both Upper and Lower Egypt. Across his chest he clasps the crook and flail, the age-old insignia of Osirian kingship, while broad bands of inlay ripple across the surface, evoking feathers and protective deities.
What makes this coffin especially striking is the wealth of decorative symbolism: protective goddesses are represented in relief, spreading their wings about the king’s body, whilst magical inscriptions invoke divine guardianship for eternity. Though the coffin’s wood was covered in thick layers of gold foil, the inlays of lapis lazuli blue, carnelian red, and turquoise green lent it a vibrancy as though the coffin itself radiated life.
The second coffin may be considered the bridge between the outer, more conventional coffin and the innermost, dazzling solid gold vessel. Together they created a sacred sequence, layer upon layer of divine protection, before the king’s body was revealed. Scholars have long noted that the second coffin shows certain features which suggest it may not have been originally crafted for Tutankhamun alone, but possibly adapted from funerary stock made for another royal burial, perhaps a queen of the Amarna line. This, however, does not diminish its splendour.
In essence, the second coffin embodies the tension between haste and magnificence that characterises Tutankhamun’s burial: perhaps not all originally intended for him, but refashioned with such care and richness that the young king was nonetheless granted a resting place fit for eternity.
New Kingdom, late 18th Dynasty, reign of Tutankhamun, ca. 1332-1323 BC. From the Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), Valley of the Kings, West Thebes. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 60670
