Sarcophagus

Wooden face from a coffin

This face, carved from wood (unknown at the present which type of wood), measures at 22.8cm and was purchased by the British Museum from the collection of the Somerset Lowry-Corry, 2nd Earl Belmore (1774–1841) in 1843. Originally, this wooden face was made to be attached to a coffin, alas, whether it ever was attached to...

The Mummy’s Curse

This mummy board was inspiration for various mythological tales associated with misfortune in the early 20th century. This included being the cause of death of British writer and journalist, Bertram Fletcher Robinson, and even the sinking of the Titanic; After the tragic sinking, stories persisted that this ‘mummy’ was on board the ill-fated ship and...

Sarcophagus lid of the Vizier Sasobek

Sarcophagus lid of the Vizier Sasobek

Black siltstone base and lid of the anthropoid sarcophagus of Sasobek, northern vizier of Egypt during the reign of Psamtik I: the lid is finely carved, showing the deceased wearing wig, beard and collar and with two vertical registers of hieroglyphic offering texts, surmounted by a figure of Nut. “It may have been found in...

Mummy of Ankhef

Ankhef

Excavated by Dr David George Hogarth, the mummy of a man named Ankhef was discovered in Asyut, Egypt. Asyut Ancient Asyut was the capital of the Thirteenth Nome of Upper, c. 3100 B.C, on the western bank of the Nile. The two most prominent gods of ancient Egyptian Asyut were Anubis and Wepwawet, both funerary...

Coffin of Takhebkhenem, Lady of the House, daughter of Pedikhons

Coffin of Takhebkhenem, Lady of the House, daughter of Pedikhons

This coffin, belonging to a woman called Takhebkhenem, is made of wood, with polychrome painted decoration. The British Museum notes that, “the vignettes, which are executed in a very conservative style, show the deceased carrying a sistrum before Osiris, her mummy on a bier, and a strange hawk-headed kneeling figure, described as Osiris, there is...

Coffin for young girl from Akhmim. British Museum. EA29587

Coffin for young girl from Akhmim

Wooden lid and base of a coffin for a young girl from Akhmim, Sohag, Egypt, c. 50 B.C.- 50 A.D. This coffin dates from the period of Greco-Roman rule and can be seen by the garment the young girl is seen depicted wearing. However, despite this she maintains her Egyptian religious belief, by being mummified...

Sarcophagus of the Vizier Gemenefherbak

Sarcophagus of the Vizier Gemenefherbak

The chest of the sarcophagus of the vizier Gemenefherbak is protected by a winged scarab, a personification of the reborn morning sun. On the back of the box, the deceased is shown twice worshiping the djed pillar, a symbol of Osiris, lord of the netherworld. In spite of the size of the object and the...

Face from a coffin. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Egyptian - Oriental Collection Inv. No. INV 917

Face from a coffin

This face from a coffin is made of wood and paint still remains. The face has a slight soft smile. It dates from the New Kingdom Period’s 18th Dynasty (c.1300-1400 B.C.), and is currently under the ownership of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, in Vienna, Austria. The mummies of the ancient Egyptian elite were placed into wooden...

Coffin of Pa-di-tu-Amun. Christies, 2019.

Coffin of Pa-di-tu-Amun

Although the coffin belongs to an Ancient Egyptian man named Pa-Di-Tu-Amun, the coffin lid was originally made for a female priestess, with the titles “mistress of the house, chantress of [Amun]”. The feminine quality of the art is still noticeable. Acquired in Egypt during the 1920s, by the Swedish scientist Olof Vilhelm Arrhenius, this Third...

Sarcophagus of Nectanebo II

Sarcophagus of Nectanebo II

The conglomerate sarcophagus of Nectanebo II was discovered after being used as a bath in the Attarin Mosque, the former Church of St Athanasius, in Alexandria, Egypt. Drill holes at the bottom of the coffin, used for drainage, had been installed and are still very noticeable. Unfortunately, due to it being used as a bath,...