Ancient Egyptian Coffins - Low PDF

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN COFFINS:
THE MEDELHAVSMUSEET COLLECTION

Aidan Dodson
Världskulturmuseerna 2015
© Copyright 2015
National Museums of World Culture
Aidan Dodson
Ancient Egyptian Coffins:
the Medelhavsmuseet collection
Photographer: Ove Kaneberg
Frontcover image: Detail of Cat. 9, the outer coffin

of Ankhesenmut.
2
Catalogue No
Coffins on display at the Medelhavsmuseet
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN COFFINS:

THE MEDELHAVSMUSEET COLLECTION
Världskulturmuseerna 2015 - Aidan Dodson
3
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
The first Egyptian objects to come to Sweden did so back in text to the old horizontal band, invoking various mortuary deities.
the eighteenth century, one of the earliest being a child’s coffin The key deities involved were the four tutelary goddesses, Isis,
(CAT.17). The collection grew during the nineteenth century, from Nephthys, Neith and Selqet, and their protégés, Imseti, Hapy,
donations (e.g. by Sven Fredrik Lidman [1784-1845] who visited Duamutef and Qebehsenuef, otherwise known as the Four Sons
Egypt in 1815 and gave a coffin [CAT. 10] in 1826), and also through of Horus. Other frequently-appearing deities included Geb and
acquisitions from early excavators and collectors such as Giovanni Nut. In some cases, painted panelling was applied between the
Anastasi (1780-1860), Swedish-Norwegian Consul-General in text-columns.
Egypt from 1828 to 1857. Some of the earliest Egyptian objects
found an initial home in the Kongl. (Royal) Museum at the Royal From the late Eleventh Dynasty, anthropoid inner coffins
Palace, but in the 1860s these had been moved to the Nationalmu- appear sporadically in the record. They were clearly regarded
seum (National Museum), which continued to collect. as extensions of the mummy-mask, as they follow the contained
mummy in lying on their sides, while their colouration gener-
The Nationalmuseum loaned most of its Egyptian items to ally imitates that of a wrapped and masked mummy. In addition,
the newly-founded Egyptiska museet (Egyptian Museum) in the contained mummy never bears a separate mask, while the
1928, which was housed in the former National Bank building anthropoid coffins always lie inside a rectangular outer coffin,
in Järntorget in Stockholm’s Old Town. Other material had, and never act as an independent container during the Middle
however, by this time already been moved to the Victoriamuseet Kingdom.
(Victoria Museum) at Uppsala University, the second major
holder of Egyptian antiquities in Sweden, founded in 1889. The However, the Seventeenth Dynasty saw major changes in the
Egyptiska museet was amalgamated with the Cypernsamlingarna anthropoid coffin, which henceforth could be used as a stand-
(Cyprus Collections) to form the Medelhavsmuseet (Museum for alone container. The principal innovation was a wholly-new
Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities) in 1954, although decoration based on feathering, depicting the deceased as a
physically not united in its present site in Fredsgatan (another human-headed bird, i.e. the ba. These coffins are known, from
former bank!) until 1982. the Arabic, as rishi, and the type was initially used by all levels
of society.
The collection includes coffins covering two millennia, from the
end of the First Intermediate Period down to the Ptolemaic For private individuals, however, the rishi went out of use during
Period. During that time, coffins transformed from simply- the reign of Thutmose III, as also did a new design that had
decorated boxes to elaborately-painted cases in the shape of a appeared around the beginning of the 18th Dynasty. This was
mummy, in some cases with a whole series nested within each the ‘white’ coffin, which reverted to the Middle Kingdom app-
other. roach of colouring the coffin to mimic the masked mummy, with
the addition of elements from older rectangular types on their
Coffins can take two basic forms, rectangular and anthropoid, troughs.
largely depending on date.1 The former were almost universally
of wood; the latter, while usually composed of wood, can also The replacement for both rishi and ‘white’ coffins was the ‘black’
be of stone and, occasionally, cartonnage. The first wooden coffins coffin. Like the ’white’, its concept was based on the masked,
were rectangular, sized to hold a contracted burial, the more enshrouded mummy, with longitudinal and transverse bands of
elaborate examples being panelled and topped by a rounded texts, imitating the exterior strapping used to hold the shroud
lid, with rectangular end-pieces (known as the pr-nw form, in place. However, the overall aspect was now black, the colour
reflecting one of the two basic forms of Egyptian shrine). Some of rebirth, with details in yellow paint or – in the highest status
are plain, others panelled on their sides to signify the façades of examples, gold.
dwelling-places.
CAT. 3 began life as this design of ‘black’ coffin, but while its in-
As the Old Kingdom proceeded, mummies began to be placed in terior remains as made, it was re-worked over a thousand years
more extended postures, coffins accordingly becoming longer, later by a new owner: coffins were made of valuable wood and
usually with flat lids. Decoration in the form of an offering- were quite frequently recycled, sometimes centuries later. The
formula began to be applied around the upper part of the trough, ’black’ coffin remained in use until early Ramesside times,
as was a pair of wadjet-eyes on the side that would face east in but from the reign of Amenhotep III was supplemented by the
the tomb. This would allow the corpse, lying on its left side, to ‘yellow’ coffin.
‘see’ out of the coffin, gazing towards the source of its offerings.
In contrast to the bichrome ‘black’ design, this employed a
This design of coffin, of which CAT. 1 AND 2 are good examples, polychrome approach, on a yellow background, further enhanced
became standard until the latter part of the Middle Kingdom. by the use of varnish. The ‘yellow’ coffin remained in use down
The main innovations were the addition of vertical columns of to the earlier part of the Twenty-second Dynasty, but with the
4
Introduction
Entrance to the Egyptian exhibition at the Medelhavsmuseet, showing the lid of Cat. 15, the colossal stone anthropoid coffin of Taperet.
elaboration and density of its texts and vignettes increasing with form from earlier examples, most noticeably a podium under the
time. CAT. 5 AND 9 represent examples from the latter part of the feet and a dorsal pillar. Its decoration was also new, mixing vig-
Twenty-first Dynasty. nettes and texts, drawn principally from the Book of the Dead.
Most were made of wood (e.g. CAT. 14A), but some were made of
The advent of the ‘yellow’ coffin was paralleled by new ways of cartonnage (e.g. CAT. 13A). While middle coffins and some outer-
adorning the mummy. Masks had been in some cases superseded most coffins remain plain in decoration (e.g. CAT. 13B, 14B), other
by anthropoid coffins during the Middle Kingdom, while by outer coffins share the elaborate decoration of the inner case (e.g.
the Seventeenth Dynasty times a burial could generally utilise CAT. 13C).
either an anthropoid coffin or a mask. However, during the early
Eighteenth Dynasty, the mask once again became an indepen- Such coffins continue into the Late Period, outer coffins also
dent element, and could now be found within anthropoid coffins. ultimately acquiring pedestals, and at the same time a more
Towards the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty such masks began squat form, with in some cases massive outer cases. In northern
to incorporate depictions of the hands and arms and be supple- Egypt, the latter were sometimes made in stone (e.g. CAT. 15),
mented by openwork cartonnage cages or covers below the chest. while wooden examples continue to have designs that differ from
Both masks and covers were replaced by full-length wooden southern pieces (e.g. CAT. 16).
mummy-boards from the Nineteenth Dynasty through to the
early Twenty-second, with decoration that largely mirrored the The tracing of developments in coffin design after the end of
coffins that held them, examples being CAT. 6-8. the Twenty-sixth Dynasty is hampered by the shortage of exter-
nally-datable assemblages. As far as can be seen, basic coffin
The ‘yellow’ coffin is one of the longest-lived types of Egyptian designs change little between the end of the Saite Period and
coffins, but disappears during the reign of Osorkon I of the Twenty- the beginning of the 30th Dynasty and into the early Ptolemaic
second Dynasty, after which a fresh approach to the enclosure of Period. Principal changes are the move to a less rounded head-
the dead comes into use. Late in the reign of Shoshenq I, mummy- end, and a switch of outer coffins to employing the same form
boards began to give way to all-enveloping cartonnage cases. At as the inner case, with a pedestal under the feet and a much
the same time, coffins underwent a major change in decoration. shallower trough. There are also changes in the decorative style,
The density of vignettes dropped dramatically, in particular on moving away from the previous standard patterns and, in parti-
outer and middle coffins of sets, which were generally restricted cular, a downward displacement of the collar, which is now laid
to a single column of text. on the chest, rather than around the neck (e.g. CAT. 3, 18, 19A-B).
Faces become larger and broader as time goes by, until some are
While most surviving coffins of this period come from Thebes, grossly out of proportion with the rest of the lid.
a number of examples from northern Egypt have survived to
show that they had a rather different scheme of decoration from Coffins ultimately influenced by these trends continue into
southern pieces (e.g. CAT. 11). This included a winged scarab on the Roman times, although as time goes by, Egyptian motifs become
head, with its wings framing the face, and patterns on the hands increasingly debased, and Hellenistic elements come in. For
that appear reminiscent of lace gloves! example, mummies of the second and third centuries AD may
have a portrait of wholly-European style inset into wrappings
The whole-body cartonnage was abandoned by the middle of the with Egyptian motifs, or employ casings showing the deceased
eighth century, when a new kind of inner coffin was adopted. in Roman-style clothing. All such elements were swept away as
Known as the ‘bivalve’ coffin, reflecting the much shallower Christianity spread throughout Egypt and by the fourth century
trough of such pieces as compared with the outer coffins, which had disappeared almost entirely.
retained traditional proportions, this also had a very different
5
Catalogue No 1.
Cat. 1: left side and lid
Cat. 1: right side
CATALOGUE NO 1.
Rectangular wooden coffin of Sitkhemetnu
OWNER from the First Intermediate Period/Middle Kingdom cemetery

sAt-xmtnw [Sitkhemetnu]; no title. in front of the north face of the pyramid of Teti,3 and was also the
subject of an Antiquities Service sale (in 1923).
NUMBER
MM 11399 (ex-Egyptiska museet E.1399). MODERN HISTORY:
Restored 1937, when the bottom and part of the interior of the
DIMENSIONS head were replaced.
Length. 187.5 cm
Width. 41.5 cm ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
Depth (lid). 5.2 cm None known.
Depth (trough). 43.0 cm
Thickness of wood. 4.4 cm DATING
Late First Intermediate Period-early Middle Kingdom, on the
MATERIAL basis of the simple decoration (Type I), 4 without the vertical
Wood, pigment. columns or decorated interior that became common during the
Twelfth Dynasty (cf. next entry).5
DESCRIPTION
A rectangular coffin with a flat lid and an eye-panel incised at BIBLIOGRAPHY
the head-end of the left side. A band of text is incised around Peterson 1970-71: 5-6[vi]; Porter and Moss 1974-81: 766.
the upper part of the trough, comprising a pair of Htp-di-nsw -
formulae commencing at the head-end of each side, and a pair
of imAxw -formulae on the head and foot. A further Htp-di-nsw -
formula is incised along the centre of the lid, beginning at the
head-end. The coffin is unpainted except for the details of the
eye-panel and individual hieroglyphs. The interior is undeco-
rated.
MODE OF ACQUISITION
Purchased by H.R.H. Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf (later King
Gustaf VI Adolf) from Egyptian Antiquities Service in 1935.
PROVENANCE
Saqqara, exact location unrecorded. However, the piece is very
similar externally to the inner coffin of Gemeni, 2 which came
6
Catalogue No 1.
Cat. 1: detail
Cat 1: lid
7
Catalogue No 2.
Cat. 2: right side
CATALOGUE NO 2.
Rectangular wooden coffin of Inyq
OWNER Not known, but probably from a cemetery in Middle Egypt; it is

inyo [Inyq]; no title. unlikely to be from Asyut itself, as it does not show the double
rows/columns of text and unusual formulations typical of that
NUMBER site,6 although some ‘standard’ pieces are known from there.
MM 10233.
ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
DIMENSIONS None known.
Length. 176.5 cm
Width. 38.0 cm DATING
Depth (lid). 6.0 cm Middle Kingdom, Twelfth Dynasty: the decorative scheme (clas-
Depth (trough). 41.7 cm sified as Type XIV) appears to date subsequent to the reign of
Depth (trough-with battens). 43.2 cm Senwosret I.7
Thickness of wood. 3.6 cm
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MATERIAL None.
Wood, stuccoed and painted.
DESCRIPTION
A rectangular coffin with a flat lid and an eye-panel painted at
the head-end of the left side. A band of text is painted around
the upper part of the trough, comprising a pair of Htp-di-nsw -
formulae commencing at the head-end of each side, and a pair of
imAxw -formulae on the head and foot. Three columns of text are
painted on each side, each comprising an imAxw -formula, plus a
single column at each end invoking Hathor and Osiris respec-
tively. A further Htp-di-nsw -formula is incised along the centre
of the lid, beginning at the head-end. The interior is undecorated.
MODE OF ACQUISITION
Purchased at Asyut on 3 June 1928 by the British collector Robert
Grenville Gayer-Anderson (1881-1945).
PROVENANCE
8
Catalogue No 2.
Cat 2: detail of right side
Cat. 2: foot end Cat. 2: head end
9
Catalogue No 3.
Cat. 3: detail of front Cat. 3: detail of front
CATALOGUE NO 3.
Anthropoid wooden coffin-lid of an un-named man, reused
OWNER figure of the goddess Nut in yellow outline, facing left, with a
No name; no title. solar disk containing her name on her head.
NUMBER MODE OF ACQUISITION

MM 13940 (ex-Egyptiska museet E.3940). Donated on 3 November 1942 by the widow of Per Clarholm
(1860-1942), a medical doctor.
DIMENSIONS
Length. 198.5 cm PROVENANCE
Width. 54.5 cm Not known, but likely to be Thebes.
Depth. 20.0 cm
Height of face. 7.0 cm ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
None known.
MATERIAL
Wood, stuccoed and painted. DATING
The forms of the face and headdress, plus the proportions of the
DESCRIPTION whole piece, and the colouration of the interior and the figure of
The lid of an anthropoid coffin, wearing a tripartite wig, with no Nut, make it clear that it was originally manufactured during the
hands and decorated in polychrome. The face is painted red, the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty, and was originally a ‘black’
wig green, with yellow and red banded terminals. A very deep coffin of the type introduced under Thutmose III.8 However, the
broad collar reaches from below the shoulders to just below the decoration of the outside is typical of the Ptolemaic Period, as is
waist, springing from a pair of very large raptor-form terminals. the adapted form of the foot. Accordingly, the piece must have
Below this is a keeling figure of Isis, facing left, with wings exten- been recovered from a robbed tomb and adapted for a new owner
ding upwards towards the edge of the lid. Below are three regis- a thousand years after its original manufacture.
ters, respectively containing: Anubis bending over the mummy;
three squatting deities; five vertical bands, reaching from the REMARKS
knees to the ankles. The upper register is flanked by a pair of The reuse of New Kingdom coffins during the early Third Inter-
wadjet-eyes, below each of which is, at 90 degrees, a squatting mediate Period is well-attested,9 but this may be the first definite
deity (ape-headed on the left, human-headed on the right) and example of a reuse as late as Ptolemaic times.
a winged cobra, its body stretching down to the ankles. The feet
have been extensively re-worked to change them from the form BIBLIOGRAPHY
current during the New Kingdom to the pedestalled form that None.
first appears under Takelot III and continues into Roman times.
Tenon-sockets indicate that the outer parts of the feet were
provided in separate pieces. The interior is painted black, with a
10
Catalogue No 3.
Cat. 3: front Cat. 3: interior
11
Catalogue No 4.
Cat. 4: left side
CATALOGUE NO 4.
Anthropoid stone coffin-trough of Hatia
OWNER DATING
Hat-iA [Hatia]; no title. New Kingdom, later Eighteenth Dynasty, on basis of simple
decoration, but apparent original yellow ground.10
NUMBER
NME 949. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Schmidt 1919: 114[585-87]; Lugn 1922: 30-31, pl. XXI; Porter
DIMENSIONS and Moss 1952: 81.
Length. 211 cm
Width (shoulders). 68 cm
Width (foot). 39 cm
Depth. 44 cm

MATERIAL
Sandstone, painted.
DESCRIPTION
The trough of an anthropoid coffin, decorated in sunk relief,
and painted in polychrome. Below the shoulders on each side is
shown a recumbent Anubis-jackal, flanked by imAxy -formulae
invoking Osiris. There are then figures of, on the left side, a
human-headed Imseti; an ape-headed Hapy; and a raptor-headed
Qebehsenuef; on the right side, a human-headed Imseti; Anubis;
and an ape-headed Hapy, all with label-texts.
MODE OF ACQUISITION
Deposited by Nationalmuseum 1928.
PROVENANCE
Aniba(?)
ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
None known.
12
Catalogue No 5.
Cat. 5: detail of lid Cat. 5: foot end
CATALOGUE NO 5.
Anthropoid outer wooden coffin of un-named man, perhaps
Khonsumose
OWNER bed, protected by a winged wadjet-eye.

No name or title, but came to museum with inner coffin and
mummy-board of the wab n mwt sS pr-imn #nsw-ms [waab- Below the crossed arms is a solar scarab, protected by crowned
priest of Mut, Scribe of the House of Amun, Khonsumose].11 cobras and flanked by images of the seated Osiris with a wadjet-
eye and a winged goddess before him. Below this register is a
NUMBER kneeling winged figure of Nut, facing left and protected by a pair
NME 890 (ex-Cairo JE 29709; Bab el-Gasus A.121/B.146). of winged cobras. She is flanked by Osiris-fetishes.
DIMENSIONS Beneath Nut, a series of registers, flanked by columns of text,

Length. 217.0 cm occupy the centre-line of the lid, reaching the foot, as follows:
Width (shoulders). 77.0 cm
Width (foot). 51.0 cm C.I Winged solar scarab in a shrine;
Depth (lid-nose). 29.0 cm C.II Four wadjet-eyes and four cobras;
Depth (lid-foot). 47.0 cm C.III Winged sun-disk;
Depth (trough-head). 57.0 cm C.IV Winged solar scarab in a shrine;
Depth (trough-foot). 45.5 cm C.V Pair of wadjet-eyes, flanking a sun-disk and above
Height of face. 18.0 cm four cobras, arranged around a kherp-sceptre;
Thickness of wood. 6.5-8.0 cm C.VI Winged sun-disk;
C.VII Solar scarab, flanked by kneeling solar human-headed
MATERIAL figures, in a shrine.
This central panel is flanked by a series of mirror-image regis-
DESCRIPTION ters, as follows:
An anthropoid outer coffin, decorated in polychrome on a yellow
background, varnished. The lid depicts the deceased with RL.I Deceased offering to a seated Osiris and a goddess,
arms crossed at the breast and wearing a tripartite wig with inside a djed-pillared shrine.
a fillet around the temples; he has a curved beard that may RL.II Deceased offering to a raptor and crowned cobra,
have been added during modern restoration. A broad collar inside a djed-pillared shrine.
with raptor-headed terminals extends from the shoulders to RL.III Deceased offering to a [damaged] black kneeling
the crossed arms, with a pectoral winged solar scarab directly figure, inside a djed-pillared shrine.
above the wrists. The ‘sleeve’ of the right arm bears vignettes RL.IV Jackal on a podium, facing a winged solar cobra.
of a squatting figure of Maat, protected by a solar raptor and
winged solar cobra and of a kneeling figure in front of a pair of These registers are divided from each other, in whole or part, by
offering stands. The left ‘sleeve’ has a reviving figure lying on a lateral bands of text. ▶▶
13
Catalogue No 5.
Cat. 5: left side of trough
Cat. 5: right side of trough
The lid is edged from shoulder to foot, and around the foot, by part flanked by west-signs. The walls of the interior are plain,
texts. Those around the edge of the feet are in crude red mono- and painted yellow.
chrome, and may have replaced earlier erased text. The foot-end
itself is adorned with a large Tit- sign, flanked by adoring west- MODE OF ACQUISITION AND PROVENANCE
signs. Deposited by Nationalmuseum 1928. It was part of a group of
coffins given to Swedish-Norwegian monarchy in October 1893
The lid was fixed to the trough by three tongues on each side of the by Khedive Abbas II of Egypt from a very large group of items
fitting into corresponding slots in the trough. The upper margin of excavated by Georges Daressy 1891 from the tomb known as the
the latter bears a band of alternating cobras and maat-feathers. Bab el-Gasus at Deir el-Bahari. Following accession by the Egyp-
The head-end bears a large Tit- sign, flanked by pairs of text- tian Museum, Cairo, items surplus to their requirements were
columns, the sides of the head by the blue and yellow striping of divided into seventeen lots and allocated to foreign govern-
the wig. The foot-end is blank. Beyond this, the right side of the ments: Sweden and Norway received Lot 14, comprising four
trough is divided into five panels, the latter five in the form of sets of coffins and mummy boards. They arrived at Stockholm by
shrines, with two columns of text between each. From the head ship on 28 November, and were divided between the National-
they contain: museum, Stockholm and the Etnografisk museum, Oslo, and
now in the Medelhavsmuseet, Stockholm, the Victoriamuseet,
R.I Deceased offering to seated Osiris and standing Isis. Uppsala, and the Kulturhistorisk museum, Oslo.12 The group
R.II Imseti (human-headed). also included the shabti box of one Djedmutiusankh13 (NME
R.III Hapy (ape-headed). 896) and 88 shabtis (NME 897–942 and Oslo EM 8080–8125),
R.IV Duamutef (dog-headed). of various owners. The Stockholm pieces were formally given to
R.V Qebehsenuef (raptor-headed). the Nationalmuseum by King Oscar II on 26 February 1894.
The left side is divided into six panels: Coffin-group A.121 is recorded as having been found at the very
end of the side-corridor of the Bab el-Gasus, the furthest from
L.I Deceased offering to seated Osiris and standing the entrance of any material in the tomb.14
Nephthys.
L.II Deceased holding lamp. MODERN HISTORY
L.III Imseti (human-headed). Restored by Peter Tångeberg and team at Tekniska Institutionen.
L.IV Hapy (ape-headed).
L.V Duamutef (dog-headed). ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
L.VI Qebehsenuef (raptor-headed). Given as group with inner coffin and mummy-board of Khonsu-
mose, both now in Uppsala.15
The floor of the trough is painted red and is adorned with a quasi-
anthropoid djed-pillar, with a stole, arms and sceptres, its lower
14
Catalogue No 5.
Cat. 5: detail of trough (L.V).
DATING
Early/mid Twenty-first Dynasty, on basis of design of decoration.16
REMARKS
Lid decoration conforms to type II-a.17 The decoration of the foot-
end of the lid is not coherent with that of the rest of the coffin,
and may be a relict from the piece having been remanufactured
from an earlier example.18 A further cycle of re-use is possibly
indicated by the crude text in red around the margins of the foot
of the lid.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lieblein 1892: 995; Daressy 1907: 12[A.121/B.146]; Niwinski
1988: 162[320];19 Barkman 1979-80: 74; Bettum 2014: 180–83.
Cat. 5: front of lid
15
Catalogue No 6.
CATALOGUE NO 6.
Anthropoid mummy-board of Pendiamun
OWNER
pn-di-Imn [Pendiamun].
TITLE:
Hry-mrw pr dwAt-ntr n Imn [Overseer of the Weavers of the
House of the Adoratrix of Amun].
NUMBER
NME 009 (ex-SNE 0168, 20 ex-Nationalmuseum 519, ex-Kongl.
Museum 519).
DIMENSIONS
Length. 150.0 cm
Depth (nose). 9.0 cm
Height of face. 12.5 cm

MATERIAL
DESCRIPTION
Anthropoid mummy board decorated in polychrome on a yellow
background. The lid depicts the deceased with arms crossed
at the breast and wearing a tripartite wig with a fillet around
the temples; he has a square-ended beard. A broad collar with
raptor-headed terminals extends from the shoulders to the
crossed arms, with a pectoral winged solar scarab directly
above the wrists. The ‘sleeves’ of the arms are decorated as
through sheathed in a series of multicoloured bracelets, plus
a pair with wadjet-eyes. Below the hands is a shrine bearing a
pair of wadjet-eyes above nb -signs, flanking a djed-pillar, the
shrine being flanked by a pair of solar raptors and wadjet-eyes.
Below this is a winged kneeling figure of Nut, facing left. Below

her, a column of text extends to the feet, the remainder of the
lower part of the board being painted red, with a pattern in white,
probably in imitation of a bead net. The rear of the board is
undecorated.
MODE OF ACQUISITION
Deposited by Nationalmuseum 1957; previously in Kongl. Museum,
as evidenced by old labels attached to the head-end.
PROVENANCE
Thebes-West (on basis of design).
ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
Some fragments of the associated coffin stored with this piece.
DATING
Mid Twenty-first Dynasty, on basis of design of decoration.21
REMARKS
Decoration conforms to type II.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Peterson 1970-71: 18; Niwinski 1988: 169[364].
Cat. 6: front
16
Catalogue No 7.
CATALOGUE NO 7.
Mummy-board of un-named woman
OWNER
No name; no title.
NUMBER
MME 1969:003; also bears number H1.
DIMENSIONS
Length. 147.0 cm

MATERIAL
DESCRIPTION
An incomplete anthropoid mummy-board, restored from frag-
ments, decorated in polychrome on a yellow background.
The lid depicts the deceased with arms crossed at the breast
(hands now missing) and wearing a tripartite wig. A broad collar
with raptor-headed terminals extends from the shoulders to the
crossed arms, with a large winged solar scarab directly above
the wrists. The ‘sleeve’ of the right arm is decorated with a pair
of squatting figures holding maat-feathers; that of the left arm
is destroyed. Below the hands is a much smaller winged solar
scarab, flanked by a pair of winged solar cobras.
Below this is a kneeling figure of Nut, facing left, her head flanked
by label-texts and pairs of cobras, with outstretched wings that
extend to the margins of the board, their extreme tips touching
the elbows. Below her, the ground of the board is painted red, with
a rhomboid pattern in white and green probably in imitation of
a bead net. The goddess kneels atop a broad band that stretches
towards the feet, comprising successive registers as follows:
C.I Winged sun-disk.

C.II Shrine containing solar scarab, flanked by squatting
human-headed solar figures.
C.III Floral motifs(?).
C.IV kherp - sceptre, flanked by winged wadjet-eyes and
pairs of solar cobras.
C.V Remains of solar bark. Further registers are destroyed.
Transverse bands of text run from this band to the edges of the
board at the knees and ankles, containing imAxy formulae. Both
sides of the knee band invoke Hapy; the left ankle band invokes
Isis (the right part being destroyed). The rear of the board is
covered with pink stucco but is otherwise undecorated.
MODE OF ACQUISITION
Purchased from the Reinhold Holtermanns collection 1969, with
a financial contribution from H. Nilsson.
PROVENANCE
Thebes-West (on basis of design).
DATING
Mid Twenty-first Dynasty, on basis of design of decoration
(cf. CAT. 6).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Niwinski 1988: 169[361].
Cat. 7 front
17
Catalogue No 8.
CATALOGUE NO 8.
Anthropoid mummy-board of Nesyperunub, usurped by an
un-named man
OWNER
nsy-prw-nbw [Nesypernub] – not changed by usurper.
TITLES:
nbt pr; Smayt n imn-ra nsw-nTrw; Hsyt Mwt nbt-pt [Lady of the
House; Chantress of Amun-Re-king-of-the-gods; Singer of
Mut-lady-of-the-sky] – not changed by usurper.
NUMBER
NME 895 (ex-Cairo JE 29703; Bab el-Gasus A.7).
DIMENSIONS
Length. 174.0 cm
Width (foot). 18.5 cm
Depth. 10.0 cm

MATERIAL
DESCRIPTION
Anthropoid mummy board decorated in polychrome on a yellow
background.
The lid depicts the deceased with arms crossed at the breast
and wearing a tripartite wig with a fillet around the temples;
ear-rings formerly present have been removed, leaving visible
scarring. Breasts with nipples appear directly below the lappets
of the wig, with a pectoral, bearing a solar scarab between squat-
ting solar human-headed figures, below and between them. A
broad collar extends from the shoulders to below the waist, with
a pair of hands protruding through it. The hands were originally
depicted with fingers outstretched, but the latter have been cut
off, to convert the hands into fists, but with the resultant scar-
ring left visible on the surface of the collar.
A winged sun-disk is painted directly below the collar, with a

scarab underneath it, flanked by cobras atop tjet-signs and
seated images of Osiris, with various auxiliary hieroglyphic
groups. Below this register is the kneeling figure of a solar god-
dess, looking left, with wings outstretched and above them a
chequer pattern. Below her is a solar scarab, flanked by cobras
atop combined djed-/tjet- signs and seated images of Osiris, with
various auxiliary hieroglyphic groups. Below, a column of text
stretches to the feet, flanked by a series of lateral registers, as
follows:
RL.I Seated Osiris in shrine.
RL.II Alternating djed- and tjet-signs.
R.III Human-headed L.III Feather-headed

anthropoid figure in anthropoid figure in front
front of Anubis-fetish. of Anubis-fetish.
RL.IV Alternating djed- and tjet-signs.

RL.V Shrine containing vertical pair of wadjet-eyes,
separated by h-signs.
MODE OF ACQUISITION AND PROVENANCE

As for CAT. 5.
ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
Given as group with CAT. 9 and an inner coffin now in Oslo.22 It
should be noted, however, that CAT. 9 belongs to a lady of a diffe-
rent name which shows no sign of having been adapted for male
use as is the case with the present piece. When discovered, the Cat. 8: front
18
Catalogue No 8.
Cat. 8: detail of face showing ears and scars from removed ear-rings
Cat. 8: detail of mutilated hands and intact breasts
set of coffins contained the mummy of a child, 1.36 metres long,

and with an inscribed shroud, but with no name preserved.23
DATING
Mid/late Twenty-first Dynasty, on basis of design of decoration.24
REMARKS
Decoration conforms to type III-a.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Säve-Söderbergh 1945: 92; Niwinski 1988: 169[366].
19
Catalogue No 9.
Cat. 9: left side of trough
Cat. 9: right side of trough
CATALOGUE NO 9.
Anthropoid outer wooden coffin of Ankhesenmut
OWNER The lower parts ‘sleeves’ of the arms bear a pattern of wadjet-
anx.s-n.Mwt [Ankhesenmut]. eyes. Below the crossed arms is a solar scarab, flanked by
seated solar Osiris figures, each with a raptor and a winged
TITLE: goddess in front of them. The next register is occupied by a
nbt-pr; Smayt n imn-ra nsw-nTrw; Hsyt-aAt [Lady of the House; kneeling goddess, facing left and protected by a pair of winged
Chantress of Amun; Great of Praise]. cobras and is flanked by Osiris-fetishes.
NUMBER Below the goddess are a series of registers down the centre of the
NME 892 (ex-Cairo JE 29703; Bab el-Gasus A.7). lid, flanked by bands of chevrons, as follows:
DIMENSIONS C.I Osiris-fetish flanked by winged red-crowned cobras.

Length. 202.0 cm C.II kherp-sceptre flanked by winged red-crowned cobras.
Width (shoulders). 64.0 cm C.III Squatting figure holding maat-feather, flanked by
Width (foot). 50.0 cm winged solar cobras.
Depth (lid-nose). 24.0 cm
Depth (lid-foot). 48.1 cm This central panel is flanked by a series of registers, as follows:
Depth (trough-head). 51.0 cm
Depth (trough-foot). 45.5 cm RL.I Deceased adoring Osiris.
Height of face. 16.0 cm RL.II Deceased adoring atef-crowned raptor.
R.III Raptor- and ape-headed L.III Human- and dog-headed
MATERIAL genii [adored by a ba-bird?]. genii adored by a ba -bird.
DESCRIPTION The upper surface of the foot has five columns of text, flanked by
An anthropoid outer coffin, decorated in polychrome on a yellow mourning goddesses (left: Nephthys; right: Isis), bands of text
background, varnished. running below the latter towards the margin of the lid, where they
meet a band of text running around the margin from shoulder
The lid depicts the deceased with arms crossed at the breast to shoulder, around the outer edges of the feet. The foot-end itself
and wearing a tripartite wig with a fillet around the temples; is undecorated; the original top of the head-end is missing.
breasts with rosette-form nipples are placed directly below
the terminals of the wig. A broad collar with raptor-headed The lid was fixed to the trough by four tongues on each side of
terminals extends from the shoulders to the crossed arms, the fitting into corresponding slots in the trough. The upper
with a pectoral winged solar scarab directly above the wrists. margin of the latter is adorned with a frieze of cobras and
20
Catalogue No 9.
Cat. 9: detail of trough (L.I) Cat. 9: detail of trough (R.IV)
Cat. 9: interior of trough
maat-feathers. The left and right sides of the head each bear MODE OF ACQUISITION AND PROVENANCE
an enshrined atef - crowned raptor, with an enshrined standing As for CAT. 5. Coffin-group A.7 is recorded as having been found
Thoth at the shoulders. The right side of the trough then has the close to the entrance of the Bab el-Gasus, in the centre of the
following tableaux, separated by one or more columns of text: corridor, between two other nests.25
R.I Enshrined Osiris-fetish protected by a winged Nephthys. MODERN HISTORY

R.II Enshrined deceased making offerings. Repaired by Håkan Lindberg and team at Tekniska Institutionen
R.III Bark supporting a pair of lions, carrying on their backs and new top of head added 1924.
a red sun-disk containing a ram and wadjet-eye, the
latter adored by three ba-birds. ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
R.IV Hathor-cow emerging from her mountain and pyramid Given as group with CAT. 8 and an inner coffin now in Oslo
tomb, protected by a winged wadjet-eye and a winged (C47713 = EM8123).26 It should be noted, however, that CAT. 8 had
cobra, with west-hieroglyph to left. been usurped by an un-named man from a woman of a different
name from the owner of the present piece.
The left side of the trough below the shoulder has the following
vignettes: DATING
Late Twenty-first Dynasty, on basis of design of decoration and
L.I Winged solar scarab in a bark, with a winged sun-disk that of associated inner coffin (type III-b).27
above and four adoring ba-birds below.
L.II Enshrined deceased making offerings. REMARKS
L.III Enshrined Osiris-fetish, protected by winged wadjet- Conforms to lid decoration type II-c.
eyes.
L.IV Two rows of six demons, with a fiery lake surrounded BIBLIOGRAPHY
by four baboons behind them. Lieblein 1892: Daressy 1907: 5[A.7/B.7]; Niwinski 1988:
174[396];28 Bettum 2014: 178–80.
The interior of the trough is painted red, with the floor adorned
by an anthropomorphic atef-crowned djed-pillar, standing on a
nub-sign. Below this figure is a pair of kneeling demons, back to
back, one donkey-headed and holding a lizard, the other vulture-
headed and holding a snake, all surrounded by an ouroboros
(snake biting its tail). The lid and trough were fitted together by
four pairs of tongues and sockets.
▶▶
21
Catalogue No 9.
Cat. 9: left side of lid Cat. 9: front of lid
22
Catalogue No 10.
Cat. 10: left side
Cat. 10: right side
CATALOGUE NO 10.
Anthropoid inner wooden coffin of un-named man
OWNER Below this, a solar scarab is flanked by kneeling solar Osiris

No name; no title. figures, each of which is protected by a winged figure: the latter’s
nature is unclear owing to the severe damage to the margins of
NUMBER the lower part of the lid
NME 008.
Below this, a series of registers, each in the form of a solar
DIMENSIONS cobra-topped shrine, run down the centre of the lid, flanked by
Length (lid). 185.5 cm columns of text, as follows:
Length (trough). 181.0 cm
Width (shoulders). 50.0 cm C.I Osiris-fetish(?), flanked by winged squatting human-
Width (foot). 29.0 cm headed solar anthropomorphic figures.
Depth (lid-nose). 23.0 cm C.II Solar scarab, flanked by solar cobras.
Depth (trough). 28.0 cm C.III Damaged central motif, flanked by vultures(?).
This central panel is flanked by a series of three registers
MATERIAL (RL.I-III), the first three badly damaged, but each including a
Wood, stuccoed and painted. standing anthropomorphic figure.
DESCRIPTION The upper margin of the trough is adorned with a frieze of cobras
An anthropoid inner coffin, decorated in polychrome on a yellow and maat-feathers, with a band of text directly below. The decora-
background, formerly varnished but now in poor condition, with tion of the top of the head and foot is lost, with the left side of the
feet and foot-end of the lid missing and many areas of surface head adorned with a series of columns of text, followed by a series
decoration damaged or destroyed, including the top of the head of following tableaux, separated by one or more columns of text:
of the lid.
L.I Seated Osiris before offering table.
The lid depicts the deceased with arms crossed at the breast and L.II Deceased between two goddesses before seated Osiris.
wearing a tripartite wig. A broad collar extends from the shoul- L.III Mummy before pyramid; in front of mummy is an
ders to the waist, with a pair of clenched fists protruding through offering table and four female and four male deities
it, with an inverted papyrus umbel between the wrists. Below the pulling a shrine-shaped sarcophagus on a boat, with
collar is a winged sun-disk, flanked by kneeling anthropoid figu- the mummy inside.
res, and beneath this a scarab, flanked by seated figures of Osiris
and standing anthropoid figures. The next register comprises The right side of the head has columns of text and the deceased
a kneeling figure of Nut, facing left, her head flanked by pairs before Osiris; the trough below the shoulder on the right side of
of kneeling anthropomorphic figures on either side of ba -birds. the trough has the following vignettes, again separated ▶▶
23
Catalogue No 10.
Cat. 10: head end Cat. 10: foot end
by one or more columns of text: BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lidman 1937: 154; Peterson 1967: 14-16; Niwinski 1988:
R.I Seated Osiris before offering table and a standing figure 168[360].30
of the deceased.
R.II Seated deceased in front of offering table and a ba.
R.III Two seated Osiris-figures and a standing goddess.
R.IV A seated figure of Osiris and a standing figure of the
deceased with an offering table between them.
R.V Ba-bird and the deceased making offering to a
seated goddess.
The interior of the trough is painted on both the floor and sides
in polychrome. Inside the top of the head is a ba -bird, but in view
of the state of the paintwork it is difficult to make a full account
of the remainder of the decorative scheme.
MODE OF ACQUISITION
Deposited by Nationalmuseum 1957; gift in 1826 from Sven
Fredrik Lidman (1784-1845) who visited Egypt in 1815.29
PROVENANCE
According to note attached to coffin, acquired at Memphis; by
design, probably originally from Thebes.
ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
Contained mummy linen and some bones in the coffin, no longer
present.
DATING
Late Twenty-first Dynasty on basis of design of decoration of lid.
REMARKS
Given disparity in lengths of lid and trough, likely that the two
parts did not originally belong together.
24
Catalogue No 10.
Cat. 10: front of lid Cat. 10: interior of trough
25
Catalogue No 11.
CATALOGUE NO 11.
Part of the lid of the anthropoid wooden coffin of an un-named
person
OWNER
No name; no title.
NUMBER
MME 1971:005; bears on reverse number ‘ ٢٤٩٢’ [2492].
DIMENSIONS
Length. 59.0 cm
Width. 38.0 cm

MATERIAL
DESCRIPTION
The upper part of the lid of an anthropoid coffin, extending from
the top of the head to just below the hands, with the rim missing
and painted in a subdued polychrome. It depicts the deceased
with arms crossed at the breast and wearing a tripartite wig. A
scarab is depicted on the forehead, with wings descending to
cover most of the wig down to just below the chin.
A broad collar extends down to level with the lappets of the wig,
with a pair of clenched fists directly below. The latter are adorned
with a grid pattern and a stylised papyrus umbel. The reverse
is covered with a layer of cream gesso, except around the top of
Cat. 11: front
the head, where bare wood and a number of dowel-holes attest to
the former rim.
MODE OF ACQUISITION
Given by H. Nilsson, 1971: purchased from Galleri Kulan, Stockholm.
PROVENANCE
Not known, but on design from Lower Egypt, possibly the mouth
of the Fayyum, from whence most provenanced examples come.31
DATING
Third Intermediate Period, Twenty-second to Twenty-fifth Dynasty,
on design of decoration.32
BIBLIOGRAPHY
None.
26
Catalogue No 12.
CATALOGUE NO 12.
Lid of anthropoid outer wooden coffin, inscribed with the na-
mes and titles of the priest of Amun, Osorkon D
OWNER(?)
wAsArk n [Osorkon, High Priest of Amun Shoshenq] (see Remarks).
TITLE(?)
Hm-nTr n imn [Priest of Amun] (see Remarks).
FATHER(?)
SSno [Shoshenq]; Hm-nTr tpy n imn [High Priest of Amun] (see
Remarks).
NUMBER
NME 838.
DIMENSIONS
Length. 208.0 cm
Depth (lid-foot). 42.0 cm

MATERIAL
DESCRIPTION
An anthropoid outer coffin depicting the deceased wearing
a tripartite wig and decorated in polychrome, with the wood
and paint in poor condition. A broad collar extends down to
the lappets of the wig, with a winged sun-disk (with a pair of
cobras) across the breast. The centre of the lid has a pair of
broad columns of text, flanked by a series of polychrome bands
extending to the rim of the lid. A strip down the centre of the
lid displays a surface texture that differs noticeably from that
elsewhere, and may once have been occupied by a column of
text. No decoration remains anywhere on the feet.
MODE OF ACQUISITION
Deposited by Nationalmuseum 1928; originally purchased for
them on 4 June 1886 by Karl Piehl (1853—1904)33 of Uppsala
University.
PROVENANCE
Place of purchase unknown, although stated by Piehl as being
‘not unlikely from Thebes’, which is consistent with its form
(cf. Dating, below).
DATING
Coffin is of a form that was current for outer (and intermediary)
coffins from the Twenty-second through the Twenty-sixth
Dynasties (cf. CAT. 13B-C, 14B).34 However, the extant decoration is
shown by its colour and form to be of nineteenth century AD date.
The colours are of shades unknown in ancient Egypt and do not
generally conform to any known decorative scheme, while the
winged sun-disk is of a late eighteenth/early nineteenth century
‘Egyptianising’ style. The forms of the hieroglyphs are consistent
with this date as well. The text itself is taken directly from one of
the funerary papyri of Osorkon D, a grandson of King Osorkon I. 35
It remains unclear whether the coffin has any link with Osorkon D
(whose burial was apparently found in 1799/1800), or whether
his published papyrus-texts were simply a convenient source for
whoever ‘restored’ the coffin, most probably in the early nine-
teenth century.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Piehl 1892: 51[5]); Schmidt 1919: 193[1086]; Dodson 2009: 54-60.
Cat. 12: front
27
Catalogue No 13. a
Cat. 13.A: head end of lid Cat. 13.A: detail of lid
CATALOGUE NO 13. A
Inner anthropoid cartonnage coffin of Isetirdis
OWNER The next register is dominated by a solar raptor with spread

Ast-ir-di.s [Isetirdis]. wings, beneath which are disposed the Four Sons of Horus,
two under each wing. The succeeding register has a mummified
TITLE: raptor in the centre, flanked by a pair of raptors with wings
nbt-pr [Lady of the House]. stretched out in front of them.
FATHER Beneath this, an Osiris-fetish extends down the centre of the lid
TA-Imn-w [Tjaamunu]. to the ankles, flanked on each side by two registers, as follows:
NUMBER R.I Horus and Isis. L.I Thoth and Nephthys.

NME 002 (lid and trough) + MM 11440 (footboard); ex-SHM R.II Thouris and L.II Ram-headed
546. crocodile-headed deity. Re-Horakhty and cobra-
headed deity.
DIMENSIONS The upper surface of the feet has five columns of text, flanked
Length. 165.0 cm by a pair of recumbent jackals. The foot-end is in the form a
Width (shoulders). 46.0 cm pedestal, the underside of the feet comprising a wooden panel,
Width (foot). 27.0 cm pegged into place, and shared with the coffin-trough. It is ador-
Depth (lid-nose). 19.0 cm ned with an Apis-bull, carrying a mummy on its back towards a
Depth (lid-foot). 27.0 cm pyramid-topped tomb.
Depth (trough-foot). 8.5 cm
Height of face. 12.5 cm The top of the head of the lid and trough is decorated with a
scarab, flanked with the signs for ‘East’ and ‘West’. Polychrome
MATERIAL stripes extend along the sides of the trough, whose back-column
Cartonnage, painted. bears a djed-pillar atop a tjet- sign, with a sun-disk with a pair of
cobras, with pendant ankh - signs, plus the phrase nb-pt [Lord
DESCRIPTION of the Sky] above it. On the back of both shoulders is the phrase
Anthropoid inner bivalve coffin, representing the deceased wea- tp-Dw.f [Upon his Mountain], below which extends a lotus-
ring a tripartite wig, with a fillet, decorated in polychrome. The headed sceptre, topped with a plumed solar disk, resting on
lid has a broad collar, with superposed crossed red braces. Below a shen-sign and with three pairs of menat- symbols hang-
this is a winged solar ram, facing left, the tail and legs being ing from it. Below the sceptres are bearded snakes and finally
flanked by vignettes of Osiris, backed by a white-crowned cobra, was - sceptres with ankhs on top.
adored by one (left) and two (right) female figures.
28
Catalogue No 13. a
Cat. 13.A: footboard
The lid was fixed to the trough by four tongues on each side of the
fitting into corresponding slots in the trough.
MODE OF ACQUISITION
Deposited by Nationalmuseum in 1928, to which it had been given
by Giovanni Anastasi (1870-1860), later Swedish-Norwegian
Consul-General in Egypt 1828-57,37 in 1826.
PROVENANCE
By design, probably from Thebes.
ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
Middle and outer coffins (CAT. 13B-C); mummy NME 002a.
DATING
Early seventh century BC on basis of design of decoration, which
conforms to design 1.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lieblein 1868: 15-18; Schmidt 1919: 185[1020].
Cat. 13.A: front of lid
29
Catalogue No 13. b
Cat. 13.B: left side
CATALOGUE NO 13. B
Middle anthropoid wooden coffin of Isetirdis
OWNER on the side-walls and her feet on the interior of the footboard.
Ast-ir-di.s (see CAT. 13A).
MODE OF ACQUISITION AND PROVENANCE
NUMBER See CAT. 13A.
NME 003 (ex-SHM 546).
ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
DIMENSIONS Inner and outer coffins (CAT. 13A, C); mummy NME 002a.
Length. 183.5 cm
Width (shoulders). 62.0 cm DATING
Width (foot). 38.5 cm As CAT. 13A; middle coffins so-decorated have no independent
Depth (lid-nose). 22.0 cm dating value beyond the broad Twenty-second through–sixth
Depth (lid-foot). 32.0 cm Dynasties.38
Height of face. 17.0 cm BIBLIOGRAPHY
Thickness of wood. 5-6 cm Lieblein 1868: 15-18; Schmidt 1919: 184[1019].
MATERIAL
Wood, painted.
DESCRIPTION
Anthropoid middle coffin, representing the deceased wearing
a tripartite wig, with a fillet surrounding a sun-disk with two
cobras on top of the head, and a broad collar, all painted in
polychrome. Below the collar, the lid is primarily bare wood,
with decoration restricted to a single column of text extending
down the centre to the tip of the feet.
The lid was fixed to the trough by four tongues on each side of the
fitting into corresponding slots in the trough. The latter is again
of bare wood, with a single band of text running from the top of
the head, along the upper third of the sides, to the foot; the hiero-
glyphs are oriented as though the coffin were standing upright
on its foot. The interior of the trough has a part-polychrome full-
face image of Nut, her name above her head, her forearms drawn
30
Catalogue No 13. b
Cat. 13.B: front of lid Cat. 13.B: interior of trough
31
Catalogue No 13. c
Cat. 13.C: left side of trough
Cat.13.C: right side of trough
CATALOGUE NO 13. C
Middle anthropoid wooden coffin of Isetirdis
OWNER IV. Shrine containing recumbent mummy on bier, with

Ast-ir-di.s (see CAT. 13A). crowns and jars below, and winged sun-disk with two
cobras above; flanked by single columns of text and a
NUMBER solar raptor with wings before it.
NME 004 (ex-SHM 546). V. Thirteen columns of text.
DIMENSIONS The upper surface of the feet has an image of a mummified

Length. 222.0 cm Sokar-raptor, wearing a menat, accompanied by a wadjet-eye,
Width (shoulders). 85.0 cm kneeling on a basket upon a striped pedestal. The lid was fixed
Width (foot). 58.0 cm to the trough by four tongues on each side of the fitting into cor-
Depth (lid-nose). 33.0 cm responding slots in the trough. The latter has its sides adorned
Depth (lid-foot). 50.0 cm with six squatting underworld deities, starting at the head and
Depth (trough). 41.0 cm foot, and separated by sets of five columns of text. The floor of the
Height of face. 25.0 cm interior is occupied by a figure of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris; the interior of
Thickness of wood. 3-9 cm the head has a sun-disk with a pair of cobras, pendant ankhs and
descending stylised rays. The walls have single broad columns of
MATERIAL text, the foot a shen-sign with twin sceptres.
Wood, stuccoed and painted; the base of the trough is made of
much thinner wood than the rest of the structure and may be a MODE OF ACQUISITION AND PROVENANCE
different type of wood. See CAT. 13A.
DESCRIPTION ASSOCIATED MATERIAL

Anthropoid outer coffin, painted in polychrome, representing Inner and middle coffins (CAT. 13A, B); mummy NME 002a.
the deceased wearing a tripartite wig, with a fillet surrounding
a sun-disk with two cobras on top of the head, and a broad DATING
collar. Below the collar, the lid is divided into five registers, as As CAT. 13A; outer coffins so-decorated have no independent
follows: dating value beyond the broad Twenty-fifth/–sixth Dynasties,39
reinforced by the ‘unguent cones’ on the heads of the deceased
I. Winged sun-disk with two cobras, flanked on each side and the Four Sons of Horus being of seventh/sixth century type. 40
by four columns of text.
II. From the left: balance, with Ammit and baboon; decea- BIBLIOGRAPHY
sed led by Thoth, with Maat behind her; bearded snake; Lieblein 1868: 15-18; Schmidt 1919: 184[1018].
Re-Horakhty; Osiris; Isis; Nephthys; Four sons of Horus.
III. Sixteen columns of text.
32
Catalogue No 13. c
Cat. 13.C: front of lid Cat. 13.C: interior of trough
33
Catalogue No 14. a
Cat.14.A: detail of front of lid (III)
Cat.14.A: detail of front of lid Cat.14A: detail of back of trough
CATALOGUE NO 14. A
Inner anthropoid wooden coffin Bakenren
OWNER DIMENSIONS
41
bAk-n-rn [Bakenren] Length. 185.0 cm
TITLES Width (foot). 28.0 cm
it-nTr Imn [God’s Father of Amun]; imy-Abd n pr imn Hr sA-4-nw Depth (lid-nose). 26.0 cm
[One-in-Monthly-Service of the Estate of Amun, of the fourth Depth (lid-foot). 23.0 cm
phyle]. Depth (trough). 11.5 cm
FATHER
pp [Pep ii]; titles: it-nTr imn [God’s Father of Amun]; wab n mnw imn MATERIAL
Hr sA-2-nw [pure priest of Min (and) Amun, of the second phyle]. Wood, stuccoed and painted, with stone and glass inlay.
GRANDFATHER DESCRIPTION
nxt.f-mwt [Nakhefmut]; same titles as Pep ii. Anthropoid inner bivalve coffin, representing the deceased
wearing a tripartite wig, with a fillet, decorated in polychrome.
GREAT-GRANDFATHER The face is painted red, with eyes of white stone and black glass;
pp [Pep i]; same titles as Pep ii. also of glass are the eyebrows. Grooves following the line of a
beard-strap were probably once also filled with glass; the beard
GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER itself is also missing, although its socket is present under the
pA-wiA-n-aDd [Pawiaenadjed]; titles: mry-nTr wnw n pt m ipt-swt chin. The lid has a broad collar, with superposed crossed red and
[Opener-of-the-Doors-of-Heaven-in-Karnak]. white braces. Below this is a winged figure of Nut, facing left, her
head and a disk bearing her name superposed over the braces.
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER Nut is flanked by eight columns of text on the left and nine on the
bAk-n-Mwt [Bakenmut]; same titles as Pawiaenadjed. right. Below are three registers:
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER I. Deceased before Osiris and Isis, flanked by pairs of

Imn-htp [Amunhotep]; same titles as Pawiaenadjed, plus juvenile figures. This panel is flanked by three columns
sS pr-HD n pr imn [Scribe of the Treasury of the Estate of Amun]. of text on the left and four on the right, with the whole
register bracketed at each end by a phoenix on a djed-
NUMBER pillar (left) and a raptor on a djed-pillar (right).
NME 816. II. Mummified raptor in a shrine, flanked on each side by
four columns of text and a solar raptor with wings
spread in front of it.
34
Catalogue No 14. a
Cat. 14.A: foot end of lid Cat 14.A: head end of lid
III. Mummy on a bier, with four jars underneath and a they are once again vertical. The pedestal on both lid and
ba -bird flying above, all within a shrine, flanked by trough is decorated with a panel motif.
squatting mourning figures of Nephthys (left) and Isis
(right), with four columns of text on each side. The interior of the trough has a djed-pillar on its floor, with an
ankh-sign and a pair of arms and on top of it, the latter holding a
Beneath this, an Osiris-fetish extends down the centre of the lid yellow sun-disk. Under the base of the pillar is a Hwt-enclosure,
to the ankles, flanked on each side by two registers, as follows: containing the epithet xnty-nbw. A band of text runs around the
interior of the sides of the trough; it shows evidence of a number
R.I Horus and four columns L.I Thoth and five columns of changes between the original drafting of the texts and its final
of text. of text. painting-in.
R.II Ram-headed Re- L.II Ram-headed Re-
Horakhty, two columns of text Horakhty, two columns of text MODE OF ACQUISITION
and crocodile-headed deity. and Thouris. Deposited by the Nationalmuseum at the Egyptiska museet, 13
August 1928; originally given by F.A. Gol[...], of Malta, likely
identical with a person belonging to the Gollcher family of which
The upper surface of the feet has an awakening Osiris on a bier members have acted as consuls for Sweden on Malta since 1874.
with crowns and symbols below, with a winged sun-disk above.
This tableau is flanked on each side by a jackal standing on a PROVENANCE
standard. The foot-end is in the form of a pedestal, the underside By design, probably from Thebes.
of the feet being adorned with an Apis-bull, carrying a mummy
on its back. ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
Outer coffin (CAT. 14B) and mummy NMA 816A. 42 Bakenren’s
The interior of the lid has a full-face image of Nut, her hands shabti box is probably Leiden L.IX.2;43 the coffin of his mother
stretched out above her head, holding a red sun-disk in her Diesetiawet is in the Musée Pincé, Angers (ex-Louvre). 44
hands. Between her feet is the burial-mound of Osiris, with texts
running down each side of the goddess. DATING
Mid-seventh century BC on basis of design of all aspects of deco-
The lid was fixed to the trough by four tongues on each side of ration.45
the fitting into corresponding slots in the trough. The underside
of the latter has a djed-pillar in relief, topped with a sun-disk BIBLIOGRAPHY
and plumes, from the lower margin of the wig down to the foot- Lieblein 1868: 48; 1871: [2294]; Piehl 1903: 52-53; Schmidt 1919:
end pedestal. The remainder is covered with texts, arranged 185[1022].
horizontally around the shoulders, vertically around the torso
and horizontally around the legs, except for at knee-level, where ▶▶
35
Catalogue No 14. a
Cat. 14.A: front of lid Cat.14.A: interior of lid
36
Catalogue No 14. a
Cat.14.A: back of trough Cat.14.A: interior of trough
37
Catalogue No 14. b
Cat. 14.B: left side of trough
Cat. 14.B: right side of trough
CATALOGUE NO 14. B
Middle/outer anthropoid wooden coffin Bakenren
OWNER PROVENANCE
bAk-n-rn (see CAT. 14A). As CAT. 14A.
NUMBER MODERN HISTORY:

NME 817. Trough extensively repaired with iron brackets inside.
DIMENSIONS ASSOCIATED MATERIAL

Length. 204.0 cm See CAT. 14A; it is possible that there may have once been a further,
Width (shoulders). 64.0 cm outermost, coffin on the pattern of the CAT. 13A/B/C set, but there is
Width (foot). 41.0 cm no evidence of such a piece having been recovered.
Depth (lid-foot). 40.5 cm DATING
Depth (trough-head). 41.0 cm As CAT. 14A; such middle/outer coffins with minimal decoration
Depth (trough-foot). 33.0 cm have no independent dating value beyond the broad Twenty-
Height of face. 21.0 cm second through Twenty-sixth Dynasty span. 46
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MATERIAL Lieblein 1868: 48; 1871: [2294]; Piehl 1903: 52-53; Schmidt 1919:
Wood. 184[1021], 185[1022].
DESCRIPTION
Anthropoid outer/middle coffin, representing the deceased
wearing a tripartite wig. Unlike the inner coffin, the eyes and
other facial features are carved in the wood. There are no extant
traces of paint on the exterior, other than a band along the sides
of the trough. The floor of the interior has, however, a polychrome
figure of the Goddess of the West, facing left, painted directly on
the bare wood, with the flesh unpainted. The lid was fixed to the
trough by four tongues on each side of the fitting into correspon-
ding slots in the trough.
MODE OF ACQUISITION
As CAT. 14A, except lid not transferred until 1983.
38
Catalogue No 14. b
Cat. 14.B: front of lid Cat. 14.B: interior of trough
39
Catalogue No 15.
CATALOGUE NO 15.
Anthropoid stone coffin of Taperet
OWNER of the lid has the scar from the removal of a manoeuvring-lug.
tA-prt [Taperet], who died at the age of 70 years, four months and
fourteen days. 47 The decoration of the lid comprises a panel of four columns of
text extending from just below the collar to the ankles. At the
MOTHER extreme ends of each side of the panel are images of the Four
mr-ptH-Hp [Merptahhap]. Sons of Horus:
HUSBAND Left, top: Ape-headed Hapi.

wAh-ib-Ra [Wahibre]; title: rxt-nsw [Royal Acquaintance]. Right, top: Human-headed Imseti.
Left, bottom: Raptor-headed Qebehsenuef.
SON Right, bottom: Canid-headed Duamutef.
iaH-ms-sA-Nt [Ahmose-sineith]; titles: sDAwty-bity [Chancellor];
smr-waty [Sole Companion]; xrp-aH [Chief of the Palace]; Hm-Ast A band of text runs around the upper third of the trough, with
[Servant of Isis]; imry-r lrt [Overseer of the Treasury]. 48 texts running from the centre of the head-end to the centre of
the foot end.
NUMBER
NME 001. MODE OF ACQUISITION
Deposited by Nationalmuseum 1976, but remained in the court-
DIMENSIONS yard of the Historiska museet on Narvavägen until August 1988
Length. 242.0 cm when it was moved to the Medelhavsmuseet building on Freds-
Width (shoulders). 127.0 cm gatan. Given to the Nationalmuseum by Queen Josefina (1807-
Width (foot). 89.0 cm 1876) in 1857; it is assumed that it had originally been a gift from
Depth (lid-nose). 42.0 cm Giovanni Anastasi in 1826.
Depth (trough). 74.0 cm PROVENANCE
Height of face. 36.0 cm Not known, but on form probably from the Memphite necropolis;
material relating to the owner’s son is certainly Memphite. 49
MATERIAL This kind of coffin is commonly found in the ‘sandraulic’ shaft
Granodiorite (?). tombs at Saqqara, Abusir and Giza.50
DESCRIPTION DATING
A squat-formed anthropoid case, depicting the deceased wearing Late Twenty-sixth Dynasty. Taperet’s husband, Wahibre, was
a tripartite wig and a broad collar, largely concealed by the wig, named for King Apries, while her son Ahmose-sineith was
with raptor-headed terminals at the level of the chin. The foot-end named for Amasis.
40
Catalogue No 15.
Cat. 15: front of lid
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Piehl 1881: 32-33; 1890: 10–12; Lugn 1922: 36; Ranke 1943: 136
n.3.
41
Catalogue No 16.
Cat. 16: detail of right side Cat. 16: detail of front of lid
CATALOGUE NO 16.
Anthropoid wooden coffin of Hapimen
OWNER with flanking sections divided into four registers, each with an
Hp-mn [Hapimen]. image and a column of text, the latter being a label-text in the
first two registers, relating to the deceased in the second pair.
FATHER(?)51: The images are as follows:
k mrk [Kemerek].
R.I Human-headed Imseti. L.I Ape-headed Hapy.
MOTHER R.II Canid?-headed L.II Raptor-headed
ptH-irt.s [Ptahirtes]. Duamutef. Qebehsenuef.
R.III Ram-headed deity. L.III Bovid-headed deity.
NUMBER R.IV Crocodile-headed deity. L.IV Cobra-headed deity.
MME 1980:002.
DIMENSIONS The upper surface of the feet has a pair of recumbent canids on
Length. 182.5 cm shrines; there is a low podium beneath the feet. The sides of the
Width (shoulders). 50.5 cm lid each have a snake, running from the ankles to just below the
Width (foot). 31.0 cm wings of Nut. The lid was fixed to the trough by three tongues
Depth (lid-nose). 22.0 cm on each side of the fitting into corresponding slots in the trough.
Depth (trough-head). 20.0 cm The sides of the trough are decorated with a lozenge pattern,
Height of face. 19.5 cm probably imitating a bead net, while the back is adorned with
two columns of text, flanked by images of deities and fetishes.
MATERIAL The deities are arranged in three registers, of which the upper
Wood, stuccoed and painted. pair are human-headed and the third with ape-heads; the second
pair have what seem to be two snake-heads each, joined by thin
DESCRIPTION black lines. A pair of fetishes topped with double plumes flank
Anthropoid coffin, decorated in polychrome, representing the the lower part of the text. The interior of the trough is coated in
deceased wearing a tripartite wig, a plaited ‘divine’ beard, and black resin.
with a broad collar with solar raptor terminals upon its chest.
The face and beard are coloured green, which is also used exten- MODE OF ACQUISITION
sively in the artist’s palette elsewhere on the coffin. Given by Ambassador and Mrs. Adolf Croneborg in 1980. Bought
in Cairo by Croneborg (1902-1983) at the end of his period as
A kneeling figure of Nut, facing left, is below the collar, her solar ambassador there 1962-1966, and kept in his home in Sweden
disk being superposed over the collar. Below her, the front of the and donated to the Museum 1980.
lid is divided vertically by a column of text, running to the toes,
42
Catalogue No 16.
Cat. 16: interior of trough (left) and lid (right)
PROVENANCE
Found near Mit Rahina, November 1964; no further information
available.
DATING
Precise dating is difficult owing to the lack of independently-
dated parallels from northern Egypt. However, the arrangement
and colouration of the body decoration has similarities to that ▶▶
found on the coffin of Mesiset in Bologna, 52 which has been
radiocarbon dated between 905 and 790 BC, 53 and that Psamtek
son of Sebarekhyt in Grenoble, 54 usually dated around the middle
of the sixth century (which shares the green face). On the other
hand, the decoration is rather more ‘naïve’ than these pieces,
suggesting a somewhat later date than these two items. Perhaps
Late Period to early Ptolemaic Period.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
George 1985.
Cat. 16: left side
43
Catalogue No 16.
Cat. 16: front of lid Cat. 16: back of trough
44
Catalogue No 17.
Cat. 17: front Cat. 17: back
CATALOGUE NO 17.
Anthropoid wooden coffin of Horkheb
OWNER DATING
@r-xb [Horkheb].55 Thirtieth Dynasty to early Ptolemaic Period on basis of form.
NUMBER BIBLIOGRAPHY
NME 011. Peterson 1967: 12.
DIMENSIONS
Length. 86.0 cm

MATERIAL
Wood, pigment.
DESCRIPTION
Anthropoid bivalve coffin, depicting deceased wearing a tripar-
tite wig and a broad collar, which terminates at the level of the
lapettes of the wig. A column of text runs down the centre of the
lid, terminating at the bottom of the pedestal. This and the collar
are drawn in black ink, which also highlights the eyes and brows.
The coffin is otherwise bare wood.
MODE OF ACQUISITION
Deposited by Nationalmuseum 1928; originally given to the
Kungl. Vetenskapsakademin (Royal Academy of Sciences) by
Johan David Åkerblad (1763–1819), who visited Egypt in 1786.56
ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
Mummy NME 011A.
45
Catalogue No 18.
Cat. 18: detail of front showing traces of gilding
CATALOGUE NO 18.
Lid of anthropoid wooden coffin of Djedbastisankh
OWNER
Dd-BAst-is-anx [Djedbastisankh].
NUMBER
MM 10118. The surviving portion of the lid comprises a single plank, exten-
ding from the top of the head to the ankles. A significant part
DIMENSIONS of the face, including parts of the eyes, and the surface of the
Length. 156.0 cm chest had been added in separate pieces of timber, now lost. The
Width (shoulders). 34.0 cm missing part of the face had been keyed into the part that had
Width (foot). 25.0 cm been integrally carved; there are no traces of any fixings for the
Height of face. 18.0 cm chest, which may thus have been glued into place, although no
Thickness of wood. 7.0 cm traces remain.

MATERIAL The underside has a full-face figure of Nut in black outline, her
Wood (cedar). The form of the surviving fragment may suggest hair and arms stretched out above her head, extending the entire
that it was made from a pre-existing plank, perhaps from a length. She is depicted swallowing the evening sun, with the
Middle Kingdom coffin.57 morning sun shown below the pubic triangle, the latter given a
black wash. The face and morning sun have a brown wash. The
DESCRIPTION part of the underside above where the head of the mummy had
Incomplete lid of an anthropoid coffin, showing the deceased been has been roughly cut away to make space for the nose of
wearing a tripartite wig and a broad collar, the latter, and other the mask.
decorative elements, carved shallowly into the wood, which
shows no sign of ever having been painted. The collar is depic- MODE OF ACQUISITION
ted placed on the chest, with a block of three columns of text Loaned by Otto Smith (1864-1935) in 1928; given by him 16 June
running down from below it towards the (missing) feet. The text 1933.58
is flanked by three images of deities on each side, carved into
the wood from the waist down, with the upper parts originally PROVENANCE
moulded in gilded plaster upon a flat surface. Only a few traces of Not known.
this remain, and the features of all the deities are lost, although
textually identified as follows: DATING
Probably early Ptolemaic Period, in view of close similarity of its
R.I [...] L.I [...] outer decoration to that of CAT. 19A, and its being incised. However,
R.II Duamutef L.II Qebehsenuef the representation of Nut on the interior has many similarities to
R.III Anubis-tepdjeref L.III Anubis-nebtadjeser one of the early Twenty-sixth Dynasty coffin of Peftjauneith, 59
46
Catalogue No 18.
Cat. 18: detail of interior showing the face of Nut swallowing the sun
particularly the unusual representation of the sun disk at the

vaginal region. The potential reuse of old cedar planks is also
seen in the outer coffin of Ankhefenkhonsu of the same general
date.60 On the other hand, the outer decoration seems better to
fit early Ptolemaic times, raising the possibility that the present
piece may have originally been made early in the seventh century
from old wood, and then re-worked again some centuries later.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
None.
Cat. 18: front
47
Catalogue No 19. a
Cat. 19.A: detail
CATALOGUE NO 19. A
Inner anthropoid wooden coffin of Neswaiu
OWNER
ns-wAiw [Neswaiu].
R.I Human-headed Imseti. L.I Ape-headed Hapy.
MOTHER R.II Canid-headed L.II Raptor-headed
tA-k rt-+Hwty [Takeretdjehuty]. Duamutef. Qebehsenuef.
R.III Isis. L.III Nephthys.
NUMBER
NME 006 (ex-SHM 546). The lid has five tenons along each side, one at the centre of the
head and one at centre of the foot. While the trough has corre-
DIMENSIONS sponding sockets at the sides and head, the foot-end has two
Length. 193.0 cm widely-spaced sockets, neither corresponding to the tongue at
Width (shoulders). 59.5 cm the lid-end, which is broken away. The trough and interior of the
Width (foot). 38.5 cm lid are entirely undecorated.
Depth (lid-foot). 34.0 cm MODE OF ACQUISITION
Depth (trough). 11.5 cm Deposited by Nationalmuseum in 1928, it had been given by
Height of face. 20.5 cm Giovanni Anastasi in 1826.
Thickness of wood. 4-5 cm
PROVENANCE
MATERIAL Found ‘in the hill of Piccinini’s house’ 61 (the south end of Dra
Wood, partly stuccoed, painted and gilded. Abu’l-Naga in the Theban Necropolis, close to Theban Tomb 16162).
DESCRIPTION ASSOCIATED MATERIAL

An anthropoid bivalve coffin, depicting the deceased wearing Outer coffin (CAT. 19B) and mummy NMA 005.63
a tripartite wig, with a fillet around the brow, a plaited divine
beard, with a broad collar placed on his chest. The face, throat DATING
and part of the beard are gilded, while the collar is painted on a Mid third century BC, since the both coffins of the set were clear-
layer of stucco. Below the collar is a winged solar scarab, again ly made in the same workshop as was responsible for the coffins
on a layer of stucco and painted, except for the sun-disk, which of Hornedjyotef in the British Museum,64 the owner of which has
is gilded. been dated to the reign of Ptolemy III.65
Below the scarab, three columns of text extend down the centre of REMARKS
the lid to the ankles. The upper half of the text-columns is flanked As compared with the inner coffin of Hornedjyotef, the present
on each side by three deities, each with a label-text, as follows: piece is undecorated internally, has rather less gilding employed
48
Catalogue No 19. a
Cat. 19.A: interior of lid (left) and trough (right)
on the collar and winged scarab and additional texts. However,

in other aspects it is all but identical.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Schmidt 1919: 225[1299]; Bjurström (ed.) 1961: [167]; Porter and
Moss 1960-64: 832; George 1979; Medelhavsmuseet 1982: 84-
85; Niwinski 1984: 465-66 n.70.
▶▶
Cat. 19.A: front of lid
49
Catalogue No 19. a
Cat. 19.A: detail of left side
Cat. 19.A: detail of right side
50
Catalogue No 19. b
Cat. 19.B: detail of front of lid Cat. 19.B: detail of left sie of the lid, close to foot-end
CATALOGUE NO 19. B
Outer anthropoid wooden coffin of Neswaiu
OWNER extending from the bottom edge of the collar to the ankles. The
ns-wAiw [Neswaiu] (see CAT. 19A). eight registers are as follows:
NUMBER I. 15 columns of text.

NME 007 (ex-SHM 546). II. Winged solar scarab, flanked on each side by five stan-
ding deities.
DIMENSIONS III. 15 columns of text.
Length. 229.0 cm IV. Mummy on bier, with four jars below and ba hovering
Width (shoulders). 83.0 cm above; vignette flanked on each side by five standing
Width (foot). 61.0 cm deities.
Depth (lid-nose). 54.0 cm V. 13 columns of text.
Depth (lid-foot). 46.7 cm VI. 11 standing deities.
Depth (trough). 20.5 cm VII. 13 columns of text.
Height of face. 28.0 cm VIII. Sun-disk with descending rays, framed by arms emer-
Thickness of wood. 12.0 cm ging from above; vignette flanked on each side by four
squatting deities.
MATERIAL
Wood, resined and painted. The upper surface of the feet has a pair of images of Anubis as a
canine, recumbent on a shrine and holding a kherp-sceptre. The
DESCRIPTION toes bear two lines of text, with a ba-bird at either end. The front
A massive bivalve anthropoid case, depicting the deceased of the pedestal has 18 short columns of text.
wearing a tripartite wig and a broad collar with raptor-headed
terminals laid upon the chest. The whole coffin has a black resi- The left side of feet has a single standing anthropoid figure,
nous coating with painted whites of the eyes and the decoration below which are four squatting deities parallel to the edge of the
drawn on in thin yellow-painted lines. lid. Behind them, a ba-bird adores the beginning of a procession
of thirteen female solar deities who hold ropes pulling the bark
A string of amulets is depicted across the throat, with a ba-bird of Re, placed on the upper arm of the lid. The bark is adored by
with outstretched wings forming part of the collar directly below another ba-bird on a stand, and carries Thoth, Maat, Hathor, Re,
the inner terminations of the wig-lappets. Below this, super- a solar deity and a helmsman. Behind the bark is a jackal upon a
posed over the collar, is depicted a shrine-shaped pectoral, shrine-shaped podium. Short columns of text run from the up-
containing squatting figures of Osiris, Horus, Isis and Nephthys. per margin of this sequence to the pair of columns of text that
border the registers down the front of the lid.
Beyond the extent of the collar, the front of the lid is divided
into eight registers, flanked on each side by two columns of text, The same situation is found on the right side of the lid, ▶▶
51
Catalogue No 19. a
with a similar representation of the pulling of the bark of Re,

but with twelve female solar deities, the bark at the foot end and
the initial adoring ba on the upper arm; a squatting ape is placed
behind him.
The inside of the lid is adorned with a full-face figure of Nut,

extending the full length of the coffin, her arms and three strands
of hair extended above her head and her limbs and body covered
with five-pointed stars. There is a slight depression above Nut’s
head to accommodate the nose of the inner coffin.
The lid was affixed to the trough by seven tongues each side of
the lid, fitting into corresponding sockets in the trough, plus one
each at the head and the foot. The edges of the lid and trough
have stepped profiles to allow them to lock together. The long
sides of the trough each have a single column of text running
from just below the shoulder to the top of the pedestal. The entire
length of the floor of the coffin has an image in profile of Nut,
standing on a standard, with a column of text running from her
waist down to a little above the hem of her dress.
MODE OF ACQUISITION
See CAT. 19A.
PROVENANCE
See CAT. 19A.
ASSOCIATED MATERIAL
Inner coffin (CAT. 19A) and mummy NMA 005.
DATING
As CAT. 19A.
REMARKS
As with the inner coffin, this piece is all but identical to the
corresponding coffin of Hornedjyotef. There are detail differen-
ces in the layout of the decoration, but both coffins were clearly
made in the same workshop.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Schmidt 1919: 225[1298]; Buhl 1959: 158, fig. 87; Porter and Moss
1960-64: 832. Cat. 19.B: front of lid
52
Catalogue No 19. a
Cat. 19.B: interior of lid Cat. 19.B: interior of trough
53
Concordance
CONCORDANCE
CURRENT NUMBER SHM NUMBER SNE NUMBER STOCKHOLM EGYPTISKA OLD NATIONALMUSEUM KONGL. MUSEUM CAIRO EGYPTIAN
MUSEET NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER MUSEUM NUMBER
1. mm 11399 e.1399
2. mm 10233
3. mm 13940 e.3940
4. nme 949
5. nme 890 je 29709
6. nme 009 0168 519 519
7. mme 1969:003
8. nme 895 je 29703
9. nme 892 je 29703
10. nme 008
11. mme 1971:005
12. nme 838
13. a nme 002 + 546

mm 11440
13. b nme 003 546
13. c nme 004 546
14. a nme 816
14. b nme 817
15. nme 001
16. mme 1980:002
17. nme 011
18. mm 10118
19. a nme 006 546
19. b nme 0075 546
54
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History of Ancient Egyptian Funerary Statuettes
with a Catalogue of the Collection of Shabtis in the
National Museum of Antiquities at Leiden, 3 volumes.
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second to the Twenty-sixth Dynasty: dating and
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– 2009. ‘Coffins as Evidence for a ‘North South Divide’ in the

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Dynasties. Proceedings of a conference at Leiden
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Notes
NOTES
1
For an overview of the development of Egyptian coffins, see It should be noted that while the original packing list states
Ikram and Dodson 1998: 193-243. that JE 29709 formed a set belonging to Khonsumose (see
previous note), Daressy 1907: 12[A.121/B.146] implies that
2
Copenhagen, Ny Carlsberg ÆIN 1615 (Jørgenson 1996: the outer coffin was a separate wholly-anonymous piece,
140-43[56]). without a Cairo accession number (and not actually listed
in the summary of Lot 14 on Daressy 1907: 21). It is thus by
3
Cf. Willems 1988: 105-6. no means clear whether all items dispatched to Europe as
sets actually belonged in these sets when discovered, while
4
Using the typology of Willems 1988. there are in any case demonstrable errors in the lists published
by Daressy in 1907, a dozen years after the coffins had left
5
Cf. Willems 1988: 121-27; Ikram and Dodson 1998: 196-99. Egypt.
6
See Willems 1988: 102-5. 13
Her coffins are now in the Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa,
Lisbon.
7
Willems 1988: 121, 167.
14
For its location and those all other groups, see plan in
8
Ikram and Dodson 1998: 210-13. Niwinski 1988: table I.
9
Manley and Dodson 2010: 41-45; Cooney 2011: 31-36. 15
See previous note. They are published in Englund 1974, 1985.
10
Cf. Ikram and Dodson 1998: 212, 228-29. 16
Cf. Niwinski 1988: 71-73.
11
It is explicitly stated to belong to Khonsumose in the packing- 17
Using the typology of Niwinski 1988.
list drawn up by Cairo Museum curator Emile Brugsch that
accompanied the coffin to Sweden (provided by courtesy of 18
Personal communication Kathlyn Cooney, 4 August 2014.
Alain Dautant); see further next note.
19
Called NME 891 in error and associated with the wrong inner
12
The equation of the items allocated is as follows (following case.
Bettum 2012, 2014, superseding Niwinski 1988 and Aston
2009: 165, 170, 177–78; thanks go to Dr Bettum for sharing 20
At one point mis-numbered NME 894 through confusion
his results with me): with the mummy-board of Khonsumose (see above, n.12) that
actually bears this number.
Cairo Journal Daressy 1907 Outer coffin Inner coffin Mummy-
d’entrée (JE) numbers board
21
Cf. Niwinski 1988: 71-76.
Number
22
See n.12.
29627 A.37 – Anonymous Anonymous
Oslo Oslo 23
Daressy 1907: 22[7].
C47714ab = C47714c =
EM8124 EM8125 24
Niwinski 1988: 76-77.
29686 A.80/ – Name lost –
B.102 Uppsala
VM 152 =
25
A.8 = Louvre E 10636=AF 9593 and E10637=AF102 (now
NME 893 Lyon H 2322 – Dautant 2014: 152–54) and A.11 = Cairo
29703 A.7 Ankhesenmut Name lost ex-Nesy- JE29698.
NME 892 Oslo pernub
(Cat. 9) C47713 = NME 895
EM8123 (Cat. 8)
26
See n.12.
29709 A.121/ Anonymous Khonsumose Khonsumose
B.146 NME 890 Uppsala Uppsala
27
Niwinski 1988: 74-75, 77.
(Cat. 5) VM 225 = NME 894
NME 891 28
Associated with the incorrect inner coffin.
58
Notes
29
Bierbrier (ed.) 2012: 332. Bareš and Smoláriková 2008: 56–57. On these tombs in general,
see Dodson and Ikram 2008: 286-87.
30
Called ‘MM 19241’ in error.
51
On the assumption that the text ‘ ink sA n k-mr-k mAa xrw ’ is
31
Taylor 2009: 380-85. to be taken as a filiation. It should also be noted that Hapy-
men’s name is followed twice by ‘sA n’, without any further
32
Taylor 2009. texts. On the other hand, the name of Hapymen’s mother,
Ptahirtes, is clearly written on the rear of the trough, pre-
33
Bierbrier (ed.) 2012: 432 ceded by ms n.
34
Taylor 2003: 116-18. 52
Museo archeologico MCAbo-EG1963 (Kminek-Szedlo 1895:
[1963]).
35
St Petersberg, National Library of Russia SPL 1.
53
Picci 2013.
36
Bierbrier (ed.) 2012: 19-20.
54
Musée de Grenoble 1986 (Kueny and Yoyotte 1979: 106-109).
37
Using the typology of Taylor 2003; cf Taylor 2003: 114.
55
The reading of the deceased’s name is slightly problematic; it
38
Taylor 2003: 116-17. is possible that it may be followed by the name(s) of one or
more parent, but the state of the text does not allow certain
39
Taylor 2003: 117-18. reading.
40
Taylor 2003: 101, fig. 2. 56
Bierbrier (ed.) 2012: 9-10.
41
My thanks go to Campbell Price for his comments on the titles 57
As suggested to me by Cynthia Sheikholeslami.
of Bakenren and his family.
58
Bierbrier (ed.) 2012: 516. The majority of Smith’s collection
42
Diener 1986. was given to Östergötland County Museum, Linköping, by his
son-in-law, C.J. Adlercreutz, in 1959.
43
Schneider 1977: III, 4.
59
Leiden AMM 5-e (Schneider and Raven 1981: 127–28[127]).
44
Lieblein 1871: [2476].
60
Cairo CG41043 (Porter and Moss 1960-64: 643); I owe these
45
See Taylor 2003: 115. two points to Dr Sheikholeslami.
46
Taylor 2003: 116-17. 61
Porter and Moss 1960-64: 832, quoting John Gardner Wilkin-
son’s manuscripts, now in the Bodlean Library, Oxford.
47
Text on coffin-lid; such information is extremely rare on
Egyptian monuments. 62
Bierbrier (ed.) 2012: 432.
48
Ahmose-sineith is known from four statues (Alexandria 402; 63
Schmidt 1919: 225[1300]; Bjurström (ed.) 1961: [167]; Diener
Cairo CG666; Moscow 5740; Louvre E.25390+Brooklyn 59.77 - 1968: fig. 5; Greiss 1949: 272.
Riefstahl [ed.] 1960: 67–68; Josephson 1997: 11-12; Porter
and Moss 1974-81: 867; Malek 1999: 806, 807, 816), a libation 64
British Museum EA6677-8, apparently found some 200 metres
table (Louvre D50 – Jelínková 1958: 112[18]), a later-usurped to the west (Porter and Moss 1960-64: 623-24; Walker and
doorway (Jansen-Winkeln 1997) and his stone coffin (Leiden Bierbrier 1997: 29-30[1]; Strudwick 2006: 294-97).
AMT.5 – Boeser 1915: 3[3]).
49
See n.48. 65
Quaegebeur 1995: 142-44.; for Theban early Ptolemaic buri-
als in general, see Schreiber 2011.
50
For examples, see Buhl 1959: 20-29, 213; Bareš 1999: 54-61.
59

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What is the collection of Egyptian coffins at the Medelhavsmuseet and how did it come to be there?

What is the collection of Egyptian coffins at the Medelhavsmuseet and how did it come to be there?

What are the two basic forms of Egyptian coffins and what are some examples provided in the text?

What are the two basic forms of Egyptian coffins and what are some examples provided in the text?

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN COFFINS:

THE MEDELHAVSMUSEET COLLECTION

Photographer: Ove Kaneberg

Frontcover image: Detail of Cat. 9, the outer coffin

Coffins on display at the Medelhavsmuseet

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN COFFINS:

Cat. 1: left side and lid

Cat. 1: right side

OWNER from the First Intermediate Period/Middle Kingdom cemetery

Cat. 2: left side and lid

Cat. 2: right side

OWNER Not known, but probably from a cemetery in Middle Egypt; it is

Cat 2: detail of right side

Cat. 2: foot end Cat. 2: head end

Cat. 3: detail of front Cat. 3: detail of front

NUMBER MODE OF ACQUISITION

Cat. 3: front Cat. 3: interior

Cat. 4: left side

Cat. 5: detail of lid Cat. 5: foot end

OWNER bed, protected by a winged wadjet-eye.

DIMENSIONS Beneath Nut, a series of registers, flanked by columns of text,

Cat. 5: left side of trough

Cat. 5: right side of trough

Cat. 5: detail of trough (L.V).

Cat. 5: front of lid

Below this is a winged kneeling figure of Nut, facing left. Below

C.I Winged sun-disk.

A winged sun-disk is painted directly below the collar, with a

R.III Human-headed L.III Feather-headed

RL.IV Alternating djed- and tjet-signs.

MODE OF ACQUISITION AND PROVENANCE

Cat. 8: detail of mutilated hands and intact breasts

set of coffins contained the mummy of a child, 1.36 metres long,

Cat. 9: left side of trough

Cat. 9: right side of trough

DIMENSIONS C.I Osiris-fetish flanked by winged red-crowned cobras.

Cat. 9: detail of trough (L.I) Cat. 9: detail of trough (R.IV)

Cat. 9: interior of trough

R.I Enshrined Osiris-fetish protected by a winged Nephthys. MODERN HISTORY

Cat. 9: left side of lid Cat. 9: front of lid

Cat. 10: left side

Cat. 10: right side

OWNER Below this, a solar scarab is flanked by kneeling solar Osiris

Cat. 10: head end Cat. 10: foot end

by one or more columns of text: BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cat. 10: front of lid Cat. 10: interior of trough

Cat. 12: front

Cat. 13.A: head end of lid Cat. 13.A: detail of lid

OWNER The next register is dominated by a solar raptor with spread

NUMBER R.I Horus and Isis. L.I Thoth and Nephthys.

Cat. 13.A: footboard

Cat. 13.A: front of lid

Cat. 13.B: left side

Cat. 13.B: front of lid Cat. 13.B: interior of trough

Cat. 13.C: left side of trough