Coffin of the Lady Nefer
Dated by style most likely to the Ptolemaic period, this coffin is dedicated to a woman named Nefer, whose mummy remains inside. X-rays of this mummy show that Nefer was about thirty years old when she died. The inscription on the coffin is quite well drawn, but the rest of the decoration has a naive, uncertain quality. The face is proportionally small, and is triangular, with tilted ears, extremely large eyes that droop at the outer corners, and an ovoid mouth. Straps for a false beard around the chin, which is further oddly ornamented by a winged scarab beetle, suggest that the coffin was originally made for a man. The rising sun meant to be propelled by this scarab is located, illogically, above the forehead, atop the heavy wig that covers the head. The top of the head is covered by a crudely drawn vulture. At the neck, between the lappets of the wig, is a mulit-tiered necklace, and a falcon-headed broad collar extends from below the shoulders to the top of the hip area.
Below this, the goddess Nut spreads her wings to protect the body. On the lower part of the coffin are images of the mummy on its bier flanked by mummiform gods and rearing cobras resting on papyrus columns, representing freshness and new growth. Atop the feet, jackals embodying the embalming god Anubis lie on shrines. Additional deities, including the four sons of Horus who protect the viscera, are represented on the sides of the lid, and cobras in the red and white crowns of Lower and Upper Egypt repectively, stretch along the sides of the box.
For Nefer's miummy, see 20.4c.
Below this, the goddess Nut spreads her wings to protect the body. On the lower part of the coffin are images of the mummy on its bier flanked by mummiform gods and rearing cobras resting on papyrus columns, representing freshness and new growth. Atop the feet, jackals embodying the embalming god Anubis lie on shrines. Additional deities, including the four sons of Horus who protect the viscera, are represented on the sides of the lid, and cobras in the red and white crowns of Lower and Upper Egypt repectively, stretch along the sides of the box.
For Nefer's miummy, see 20.4c.
Artwork Details
- Title: Coffin of the Lady Nefer
- Period: Ptolemaic Period
- Date: 4rd century B.C. or later
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Wood, paste, paint
- Credit Line: Gift of John W. Baxter, 1920
- Object Number: 20.4a, b
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
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4rd century B.C. or later
332–250 B.C.
ca. 1000–945 B.C.
ca. 1000–945 B.C.
200–150 B.C.
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