Sarcophagus of Harsiese

This rectangular sarcophagus with vaulted lid is inscribed for a priest named Harsiese, son of Djedbastetiuefankh. The lower register on the long sides is carved with "palace-faç ade" paneling, a pattern of niching seen throughout Egyptian history that would have associated the sarcophagus with a shrine and enhanced the divinity of the owner. Above the niches on each side is a series of divine beings. These represent deities and demons from the ancient Egyptian underworld books, there to protect Harsiese and escort him to the afterlife.

Harsiese’s priestly titles connect him with the crocodile god Sobek of Shedyt, who is associated especially with the Faiyum. Other titles mention the Lord of Khemu (Hermopolis). Harsiese's father held the same titles.

Although this sarcophagus dates to the first millennium BCE, the style and much of the decoration harken back to much earlier models. The rectangular shape with the vaulted lid, along with the niches on the sides, first appeared in stone coffins of the early Old Kingdom, around 2500 BCE. This style is seen in some wood coffins of the late Middle Kingdom (around 1700 BCE), and became popular, again in wood, for outer coffins in Dynasties 25 and 26 (around 700-600 BCE; see, for example, the outer coffin of Tabakenkhonsu). Vaulted stone coffins of hte type seen here are less common before the later first millennium.