Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Cartonnage of Nespanetjerenpere

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Cartonnage of Nespanetjerenpere

Cartonnage, a substance made of cloth or papyrus mixed with plaster and water, was used during the Third Intermediate Period to make an innermost case for the mummified body. The mummy was inserted and the covering was then painted with funerary scenes and inscriptions and placed in one or more coffins, which had been decorated in much the same way. The decoration here was chosen to associate its occupant, the priest Nespanetjerenpere, with divine resurrection. The ram-headed falcon on his chest represents the sun god's nightly journey through the land of the dead. The small figures on the front represent deities aligned with various parts of his body, as described in the funerary Book of the Dead.


• Medium: Linen or papyrus mixed with plaster, pigment, glass, lapis lazuli
• Reportedly From: Thebes, Egypt
• Dates: ca. 945-718 B.C.E.
• Dynasty: XXII Dynasty
• Period: Third Intermediate Period
• Dimensions: 69 11/16 in. (177 cm)
• Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
• Accession Number: 35.1265
• Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
• Image: Detail, 35.1265_NegK_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Cartonnage of Nespanetjerenpere, ca. 945-718 B.C.E. Linen or papyrus mixed with plaster, pigment, glass, lapis lazuli, 69 11/16 in. (177 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 35.1265 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 35.1265_NegK_bw.jpg)