Coffin

Coffin Cover of Panehesy

Coffin Cover of Panehesy

The mummy case of the priest Panehesy is a very nice specimen, decorated with winged figures of gods and hieroglyphs. These paintings have a general protective significance. On the back of the sleeve you can see a ‘djed pillar’, the Egyptian symbol for sustainability and eternal existence. For the ancient Egyptians, life after death was...

Miniature Coffin of Tutankhamun

Miniature Coffin of Tutankhamun

The interior of the alabaster canopic chest of King Tutankhamun was divided into four compartments, each holding a miniature gold coffin containing the viscera of the king, wrapped in bandages. These mummiform coffins were decorated inside with texts and outside with a feather design inlaid in carnelian and colored glass and the titles of the...

Base and lid of an anthropoid outer coffin of Seshepenmehyt

Anthropoid outer coffin of Seshepenmehyt

The outer coffin of Seshepenmehyt is made of sycamore fig wood, with elaborate polychrome painted decoration. A winged solar disc covers the right breast, and below, a narrow scene showing the weighing of the deceased’s heart (at right). At the level of the knees, Anubis is represented mummifying the deceased as she lies on a...

Cartonnage mask of Shep en-Mut

Cartonnage Mask of Shep en-Mut

The ancient Egyptian mummy, coffin and cartonnage mask of Shep en-Mut were donated to the museum in 1897. The decoration and inscriptions show she was a married woman, and the daughter of NesAmenempit, who is described as a ‘carrier of the milk-jar’. Cartonnage masks were an integral part of ancient Egyptian funerary practices. These masks...

Outer Sarcophagus of Khonsu

Outer Coffin of Khonsu

The coffin of Khonsu was found in the Tomb of Sennedjem (TT1), Khonsu’s father, at Deir el-Medina, West Thebes. This wooden coffin bears decoration related to Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead on its long sides. On one side Anubis can be seen mummifying the body of Osiris (with whom the deceased is...

Mummy of Queen Ahmose-Meritamun

Mummy of Queen Ahmose-Meritamun

The mummy of Queen Ahmose-Meritamun was buried in tomb (TT358) in Deir el-Bahari in two cedar wood coffins and a cartonnage outer case, which is now damaged. Cartonnage is linen or papyrus held together by glue and molded into coffins. The tomb, in antiquity, had been robbed and apparently the mummy was plundered. Nevertheless, during...

Relief of the goddess Isis, decorative detail of sarcophagus of Thuya

Relief of the Goddess Isis

A bas relief depicts Isis kneeling on a stool in the shape of the Nebu or gold symbol in hieroglyphs, goddess of motherhood, magic, healing, and rebirth. In addition to her traditional roles as wife, mother, healer, and protector of the dead, Isis was worshiped as the goddess of good fortune, the sea, and travel....

The Second Golden Coffin of Tutankhamun

Outermost Coffin of Tutankhamun

The outermost coffin of Tutankhamun is significant artifact from ancient Egypt. It is the three that were originally placed one inside the other in the Tomb of Tutankhamun. It was found inside the outer gilded coffin. It was designed to encase the innermost coffin and provide additional protection for the mummified body of Tutankhamun. The...

The journey of the sun god Re. Detail in the inner coffin of Nespawershefyt. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. E.1.1822 

The Journey of the Sun God Re

The scene shows the journey of the sun god Re, in his falcon form, seated in his shrine. On the prow, we see the god Hor-nedj-it-ef, Horus the avenger of his father, harpooning the evil snake Apep or Apophis, symbol of chaos and destruction. By the end of the barque, we see the steer holder...

Silver Coffin of Psusennes I

Silver Coffin of Psusennes I

The lid of this silver mummy-shaped coffin portrays King Psusennes I as a mummy. His arms crossed over his chest holding the flail and the scepter. There is a solid gold uraeus, or royal cobra, on his forehead to protect him. The face is decorated with a band of gold across the forehead; the eyes...