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Coffin and Mummy Board of Pasebakhaemipet

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Funerary Gallery 2, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
Magical decoration ensuring the deceased’s wishes was at first put on tomb walls, but in Dynasty 21, the most elaborate decoration began to appear primarily on coffins.

The lid of this coffin shows Osiris, the god of the dead, depicted multiple times; Nut, the sky goddess; and, on the interior, the goddess of the afterlife—three deities who together create a miniature universe for the mummy to inhabit. The outsides of the box depict the deceased’s journey to the afterlife, including the final judgment by weighing his heart against the feather of truth, while the mummy board shows him as a living presence arrived in the next world.

Carbon-14 dating conducted in 2009 indicates that Pasebakhaienipet, who was the mayor of Thebes, died between 1110 and 939 B.C.E., a date supported by the Twenty-first Dynasty style of his coffin. His elaborate coffin and mummification in the most expensive style suggest his high status in Egyptian society.
MEDIUM Wood, pigment
DATES ca. 1070-945 B.C.E.
DYNASTY Dynasty 21
PERIOD Third Intermediate Period
DIMENSIONS 12 5/8 x 21 5/8 x 76 3/8 in. (32 x 55 x 194 cm)  (show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER 08.480.2a-c
CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
PROVENANCE Deir el-Bahri, Thebes, Egypt; by 1893, unearthed by Emile Brugsch; 1894, purchased from Emile Brugsch by Armand de Potter of Belgium and New York, NY; 1905, inherited from Armand de Potter by Amy Beckwith (Mrs. Aimee S. de Potter) of New York, NY and Asheville, NC; March 1908, purchased from Amy Beckwith by the Brooklyn Museum.
Provenance FAQ
CAPTION Coffin and Mummy Board of Pasebakhaemipet, ca. 1070-945 B.C.E. Wood, pigment, 12 5/8 x 21 5/8 x 76 3/8 in. (32 x 55 x 194 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.2a-c. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 08.480.2a-c_inner_detail_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE detail, inner lid, 08.480.2a-c_inner_detail_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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