Sarcophagus lid. Egypt, Saita period, 26th Dynasty, 664-525 BC.
Polychrome wood.
Provenance: Spanish private collection.
In good condition. The protruding lower part of the feet is missing and there is an apparent modern restoration affecting the lower horizontal band of the legs and an axial longitudinal crack.
Measurements: 180 x 50 x 28 cm.
The anthropomorphic lid of this sarcophagus represents the deceased mummified and bandaged, except for the face, which is uncovered and whose modelling highlights the large open eyes painted in black and white. The face indicates that the coffin was originally made for a woman. The face is painted in light ochre-yellow, a colour reserved for women in Egyptian iconography throughout the Pharaonic period. She wears a damask wig. From the pectoral line starts a large usekh necklace composed of eight distinct bands, decorated with glass-paste pearls. The pectoral is crowned with the image of a falcon surmounted by the solar disc (Horus-Ra). In the middle of the body of the lid, a red line serves as a base for a seated goddess spreading her vulture-like wings in a protective attitude. This is an aspect of the sky-goddess Nut. Immediately below and presiding over a penultimate figural space is the jackal god Anubis, guardian of the necropolis. Below his body is a mummified corpse painted green: both the colour and the false beard recall the god of the dead Osiris. On the left, a winged cobra with the solar disc on its head seems to protect Anubis. On the right, two other cobras are presiding over the funerary procession. Below, and as if paying homage to the column of sacred text (hieroglyphs), we see four funerary genii called sons of Horus. They all hold in their hands the feather of Maat. The figure on the top left is Amset. To his right, facing him, is Kebesenuf. On the lower left is the genie Hapy. Finally Duamutef. Behind the genii in the upper register, two pairs of cobras with the solar disc.
In Ancient Egypt, the sarcophagus was associated with embalming and mummification rituals, designed to bring the deceased to eternal life. During the Middle Kingdom the custom arose of placing masks made of linen and a paste similar to cardboard over the face and shoulders of the deceased. This led to the appearance of the first anthropomorphic sarcophagi, coffins in human form, almost always made of wood (examples for the pharaohs would be made of much richer materials, such as gold combined with inlays of different stones). They would be ornamented with painted scenes and texts, with funerary symbolism, and accompanied by a wide variety of amulets. Generally speaking, however, the sarcophagus of the New Empire, especially the royal sarcophagus, will be characterised by its rectangular shape, in imitation of the earliest examples of the New Empire. However, the anthropomorphic type of coffin would continue over the centuries until the end of the Pharaonic world, with some variations (especially during the years of Roman rule in the area).