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Fragment of a
Woman's Coffin

_A falcon-headed god wearing a solar disk crown and seated upon a
throne forms the primary decorative device on this painted coffin
fragment._ The inscription in front of the deity identifies him as
Re-Horakhty-Atum, the god central in creation myths. To the ancient
Egyptians, before the world appeared, only a dark, watery, void
defined by eight gods and goddesses existed. Then Re, the sun god,
rose out of this primordial water and established land. He gave birth
to the god Shu and the goddesses Tefnet and Maat, and in some versions
his tears became mankind. Thus divine cosmic order came into being.

Re had several aspects: Khepri, the morning; Horakhty, the midday; and
Atum, the afternoon. Although Re-Horakhty-Atum was not a funerary god,
during Dynasty XXI (ca. 1070-945 B.C.) with increasing frequency he
replaced Osiris in the traditional offering formula. This shift
accounts for his presence on this piece.

Although many ancient Egyptian coffins were decorated, the brightly
colored and elaborately embellished Third Intermediate Period coffins
seem to have been particular favorites of late nineteenth- and early
twentieth-century art collectors. Of the many hundreds of coffin
fragments of this type, most show complete scenes or figures of gods;
rarely do we see, for example, incomplete portions of two scenes. This
observation suggests that during the early days of collecting, when
someone located a coffin outside of an archaeological excavation he
carefully chopped it up into vignettes. The finder knew he could
realize a greater profit from several pieces than from one whole
object. This fragment of an anthropoid coffin, intended for a woman,
is such a piece.

_Fragment from a Woman's Coffin_
(gessoed wood, paint)
Dynasty XXI
(ca. 1070-945 B.C.)
Provenience unknown
Length 46 cm; width 22.5 cm
ACC. 9074-2667

_Excerpted from_ Reflections of Greatness: Ancient Egypt at The
Carnegie Museum of Natural History _by Diana Craig Patch.
© 1990 The Board of Trustees, Carnegie Institute. _

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References

1. http://www.clpgh.org/cmnh/exhibits/egypt/index.html
2. http://www.clpgh.org/cmnh/exhibits/egypt/religion.html#osiris
3. http://www.clpgh.org/cmnh/exhibits/index.html
4. http://www.clpgh.org/cmnh/exhibits/egypt/index.html