Collection
/
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Face from an Anthropoid Coffin

ca. 1070–945 B.C.E.

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Object Label

This face from a coffin is treated in a manner called "hieroglyphic." Its features are like individual hieroglyphs and are not totally integrated into the face by means of organic modeling.

The piece is dated to Dynasty XXI and attributed to Thebes because it resembles very closely many faces on coffins of that time and place. The face's shape and features reflect the revival of the artistic style of the earlier part of Dynasty XVIII (circa 1539–1390 B.C.) or early Dynasty XIX (circa 1295–1250 B.C.), some of whose art was influenced by the art of early Dynasty XVIII.

Caption

Face from an Anthropoid Coffin, ca. 1070–945 B.C.E.. Wood, gesso, pigment, 8 7/16 x 8 1/16 x 4 5/16 in. (21.5 x 20.5 x 11 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.2037E. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Title

Face from an Anthropoid Coffin

Date

ca. 1070–945 B.C.E.

Dynasty

Dynasty 22

Period

Third Intermediate Period

Geography

Reportedly from: Thebes, Egypt

Medium

Wood, gesso, pigment

Classification

Funerary Object

Dimensions

8 7/16 x 8 1/16 x 4 5/16 in. (21.5 x 20.5 x 11 cm)

Credit Line

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number

37.2037E

Rights

Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Frequent Art Questions

  • Was the face on the coffin more significant? Is that why it was sculpted separately?

    An anthropoid, or human-shaped, coffin like the one this face comes from would have been sculpted in multiple parts because wood was rare and expensive in ancient Egypt.
    Large pieces were especially difficult to acquire.
    Did you notice the tongue of wood sticking out above the eyes? That's one of the tenon's craftsman used to attach this piece to the rest of the coffin.

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