Lid of Coffin

The lid of a child's coffin, this was found in a badly-disturbed pit-tomb (MMA 1031) south of the temples at Deir el-Bahri. Although this valley was apparently first used as a necropolis in early Dynasty 12, when Amenemehat I chose it for his temple and tomb, many of the objects recovered by the Museum's Egyptian Expedition date from the secondary use of the area in Dynasty 17 and early Dynasty 18.

The folded wings that embrace the lower body of the deceased identify this as a variation on the rishi (feathered) coffin-type, dating the piece to the late 17th or early 18th Dynasty. The Hathor-style wig (long locks with an outward curl at the end) in blue and yellow stripes and the large ears evoke the style of the Middle Kingdom. In addition to the wig, the child wears a broad festival collar and cuff bracelets. The wings are green and white, with details picked out in black, white, and red. Her body is yellow (the color used for female skin), and the inscription down the center of her body asks that offerings be given to her by the king through the offices of the mortuary gods Ptah-Sokar and Osiris. Unfortunately, the extended foot is broken off just where the owner's name would have been written.