Question: where are the mummy bodies? I see the cases, but not the bodies.
There are currently four mummies in the galleries: Thothrides, Hor, Gautseshenu, and the Anonymous Man. We have some in storage and there are also examples of coffins/cartonnages that have been separated from their mummies before coming to the museum.
Can you tell me about this?
This 'Bottom of Coffin' is typical of the Third Intermediate Period where typical adornments included a large goddess or a djed-pillar while around this and on the internal walls were many smaller figures. The large figure is Osiris, king of the dead, supported by Anubis and Horus.
How come the colours are preserved so well?
These coffins would have been placed in dark tombs in the desert. The dry climate and the lack of light is what allowed so much of Egyptian funerary material to be relatively well preserved!
Does each image have a meaning?
Yes! The central figure is the god Osiris, king of the dead and lord of the afterlife. It's typical for coffins to have imagery which emphasizes the deceased's relationship with Osiris, to ensure successful passage into the afterlife.
What do these four cobras on this coffin represent?
They are all part of Osiris’s headdress. You’ll often find at least one cobra, known as a uraeus, on the headdresses of Egyptian deities and royalty. They represent the goddess Wadjet, a protective deity especially associated with Lower Egypt or the Delta region. Multiple uraei, like we see here, became popular in the later New Kingdom period.