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Panel from the Coffin of a Woman

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Funerary Gallery 1, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
This coffin is decorated with hieroglyphic texts invoking both national gods and the local gods of Asyut. The texts also include a prayer for bread, beer, and other offerings in the afterlife. A stand with five jars of oil, a bed with seven linen bags of materials for mummification, a mirror, and a pair of sandals are all depicted on the coffin’s side, magically ensuring their presence in the tomb and with the deceased forever.
MEDIUM Wood, pigment
  • Possible Place Collected: Asyut, Egypt
  • DATES ca. 2008-1875 B.C.E.
    DYNASTY late Dynasty 11 to early Dynasty 12
    PERIOD Middle Kingdom
    DIMENSIONS 17 1/2 x 71 1/2 x 1 1/4 in., 22 lb. (44.5 x 181.6 x 3.2 cm, 9.98kg)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 1995.112
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Outer panel from left (east) side of a coffin originally made for a man but appropriated for an unnamed woman. In the invocation offering formula the datival n.k has been altered to n.t. Made of several irregularly shaped wooden pieces doweled together, a not uncommon practice at Asyut. Painted yellow in imitation either of gold or of a coniferous wood. (i.e., to mimic a more expensive wood). The frises d’objets on the exterior is another feature that suggests Asyut as the provenance. Condition: Good overall; unstable areas of polychromy on the left side about 15” from edge, also on right. Loss of paint from black outlines near both short ends.
    CAPTION Panel from the Coffin of a Woman, ca. 2008-1875 B.C.E. Wood, pigment, 17 1/2 x 71 1/2 x 1 1/4 in., 22 lb. (44.5 x 181.6 x 3.2 cm, 9.98kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 1995.112. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1995.112_PS1.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 1995.112_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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