Egypt, Late Dynastic period, ca. 712 to 332 BCE. A huge fragment of a wooden mummy sarcophagus, brightly painted on a thin layer of gesso with natural pigments. From the top down, the artwork includes: a pectoral; a standing Anubis and a kneeling goddess who appears to be Bastet on a thin platform; a scarab with spread, bird-like wings and a sun disk (Khepri); the goddess Isis, also with wings and a sun disk; a sarcophagus on a lion's back (perhaps Sekhmet); and three columns of hieroglyphs. Size: 11.5" W x 36.75" H (29.2 cm x 93.3 cm)

Egyptian coffins were made to protect the body from tomb robbers and animals, and to shield the soul on its journey to the afterlife. They were colorfully painted with gods and hieroglyphs - the names of the deceased, spells for protection in death, spells to aid in navigating the afterlife. By the Late Dynastic period, coffins were purchased ready-made, with blank spaces left for inscriptions to be added. They were created by molding them around disposable cores of mud and straw. Depending on the wealth of the individual, it was fashionable for mummies to be nested inside of multiple coffins. The artwork of this piece is classically Egyptian, with heavy black outlines and an emphasis on red, blue, and yellow pigment on a cream-colored surface.

Provenance: Ex-private east coast, USA collection

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#120748

Piece is a fragment as shown. Remaining pigment is bright, with few losses.