Body, Cosmos and Eternity: New Trends of Research on Iconography and Symbolism of Ancient Egyptian Coffins

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In February 2013, the Symposium Body, Cosmos and Eternity: the Symbolism of Coffins in Ancient Egypt convened at the historical building of the University of Porto to debate conceptual frameworks underlying the contemporary study of Egyptian coffins. Rising from the close association with the depiction of the mummified body, the anthropoid coffins soon absorbed a rich mythological imaginary related to the constellation of Nut, the mother goddess of the sky supposed to give birth to Osiris, and evolved continuously, integrating larger and more complex sets of beliefs, mirroring the increasingly bolder use of coffins in the funerary rituals. It was this complex set of beliefs involving the coffin that we proposed to explore in this series of symposia. Following our original purpose, the studies presented in this volume display an excellent overview on the new trends of research on coffin studies, with diverse contributions concerned either with symbolism or social significance of coffins, museums´ collections or archaeological finds. These studies superbly showcase the richness of coffins as documental sources for the study of Egyptian religion, economy and society.

Author(s): Rogerio Sousa
Series: Archaeopress Egyptology
Publisher: Archaeopress Archaeology
Year: 2014

Language: English
Pages: 211

Cover
Title page
Copyright page
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
Part I : Studies on Coffin Symbolism
From skin wrappings to architecture
René van Walsem
Figs. 1-2 - After DONADONI-ROVERI, 1969: figs. 6a-b.
Fig. 3 - After IKRAM, DODSON, 1998: fig. 236.
Fig. 4 - After DONADONI-ROVERI, 1969: pl. 8,1.
Fig. 7 - After KUHLMANN, 1996: fig. 14.
Figs. 5-6 - After HEINRICH, 1957: figs. 105-106.
Fig. 8 - After DONADONI-ROVERI, 1969: pl. 9.
Fig. 9 - After FIECHTER, 2001: 91.
Fig. 10 - After DONADONI-ROVERI, 1969: pl. 24.
Fig. 11 - After DONADONI-ROVERI, 1969: pl. 29,1.
Fig. 12 - After HAYES, 1935: fig. 16.
Fig. 13 - After LACAU, 1904: pl. 10.
Fig. 14 - After LACAU, 1904: pl. 15.
Fig. 15 – After IKRAM, DODSON, 1998: fig. 347.
(AF 1666 - E 13030), Paris.
Fig. 16 - Photographs: top left: Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta; top right: Cairo Egyptian Museum; bottom: Louvre
Fig. 17 - After DESROCHES NOBLECOURT, 1976: 166.
Fig. 18 - Photograph Museum of Antiquities, Leiden and after THAUSING, GOEDICKE, 1971: pl. 8=68.
Fig. 19 - Photograph Museum of Antiquities, Leiden.
Fig. 20 - After WALSEM, 1997: pl. 143.
Fig. 21 - Photograph Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Fig. 22 - After HORNUNG, 1976: 58-59; After PIANKOFF, 1964: 14-15.
Fig. 23 - After WITTKOWER, 1971: fig. 1a.
The evolution of prehistoric, anthropoid wrappings to historic architectonic coffins/sarcophagi; separate contrasts optimally fused in single Theban ‘stola’ coffins (±975-920 BC)
Permeable containers: Body and cosmos in Middle Kingdom coffins
Rune Nyord
Fig. 1 - Object frieze on the back side of the inner coffin of Gemniemhat, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, ÆIN 1585. Photo: Ole Haupt, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek.
Fig. 2 - The purification ritual with sieve, jar and two ankhs as represented in two dimensions in the 18th Dynasty tomb of User (TT 21). Davies, 1913, pl. 21. Courtesy of the Egypt Exploration Society.
Drawing: Henrijette Vex Nyord.
Fig. 3 - Diagram showing the distribution of D1 hieroglyphs with and without colour emphasis on the coffin of Bekheni, Cairo Museum, CG 28012.
Fig. 4 - Vignette of East and West standards bearing offerings from the front side of the inner coffin of Senebtisi (L2Li). Gauthier, J.-E.; Jéquier, G., 1902: pl. 23. Courtesy of the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale.
Fig. 5 - Diagram of internal/external relations implied by the coffin decoration. Drawing: Henrijette Vex Nyord.
Ancient Egyptian funerary arts as social documents: social place, reuse, and working towards a new typology of 21st Dynasty coffins
Kathlyn M. Cooney
(Cairo CG 61025)
Fig. 1 - Coffin of Nodjmet (Cairo CG 61024).
Fig. 2 – Coffin of Panedjem I
Fig. 3 - Inner coffin of Nesykhonsu (Cairo CG 61030)
Fig. 4 - Inner coffin of Isetemkheb (Cairo CG 61031)
Fig. 5 – Inner coffin of Djedptahiuefankh (Cairo CG 61034)
Fig. 6 – Coffin of Sutymes (Louvre N2609-11)
Fig. 7 – Mummy board of Tabakenkhonsu (Turin 2226- DSC_1421) - Photographer Neil Crawford
Fig. 8 – Coffin of Amenemipet (BM EA 22941)
Fig. 9 – Coffin set of Butehamen (Turin C2237)
Fig. 10 – Inner coffin of Tjenetentiuhereru (Louvre 13034-35)
Fig. 11 – Outer coffin of Ikhy (Vatican 25035 - DSC_4641) -
Photographer Neil Crawford
Fig. 12 – Coffin of an anonymous woman (BM EA 24907)
Fig. 13 - Louvre AF 9593
Fig. 14 – Anonymous coffin (Florence 2157 - GYU_0860) -
Photographer Remy Hiramoto
Fig. 15 – Anonymous coffin (Florence 2157 - DSC_2783) - Photographer Neil Crawford
Fig. 16 – Coffin of Meretenahet (Vienna AS 6066)
Fig. 17 – Anonymous coffin (Copenhagen 3912)
Fig. 18– Anonymous coffin: lid (Vatican 25022 - DSC_3286) - Photographer Neil Crawford
Fig. 19 – Anonymous coffin: lid DSC_3246 - Photographer Neil Crawford
Fig. 20 – Anonymous coffin (Berlin 9679)
Representations of passage in ancient Egyptian iconography
Éva Liptay
Fig. 1 - Junker, 1943: Abb. 13
Fig. 2 - Junker, 1940: Abb. 9
Fig. 3 - Niwiński, 1999: fig. 32. Courtesy of Andrzej Niwiński
Fig. 5 - Niwiński 1995: fig. 55. Courtesy of Andrzej Niwiński
Fig.4 - Niwiński 1989: fig. 42. Courtesy of Andrzej Niwiński
Fig.6 - Niwiński 1999: fig. 76
Fig. 7 - Niwiński 1995: fig. 100
Crossing the landscapes of eternity: parallels between Amduat and funeral procession scenes on the 21st Dynasty coffins1
Cássio de Araújo Duarte
Fig. 1 - Brussels E 5881. Photos by the author.
Fig. 2 - Leiden AMM 18-h. Courtesy of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden.
Fig. 3 - London EA 22941. © Trustees of the British Museum
Fig. 4 - London EA 22942. © Trustees of the British Museum
Fig. 5 - Mougins MMoCA489. Courtesy of the Mougins Museum of Classical Art.
Fig. 6 – Athens ANE 3422 - Drawing by the author
Fig. 7 - Berlin 580001 – Drawing by the author.
‘Spread your wings over me’: iconography, symbolism and meaning of the central panel on yellow coffins
Rogério Sousa
Fig. 1 – Coffin´s components (after the outer coffin of A 136) – Drawing by the author.
Fig. 2 – Central panel. Inner coffin of Khonsu (Metropolitan Museum of Art) – Drawing by the author.
Fig. 3 – Central panel. Outer coffin of Henut-taui (Metropolitan Museum of Art) – Drawing by the author.
Fig. 4 – Central panel. Mummy-cover of Diukhonsuiry (A.49, Cairo Egyptian Museum) – Drawing by the author.
Fig. 5 – Central panel. Inner coffin of Henut-taui (Metropolitan Museum of Art) – Drawing by the author.
Drawing by the author.
Fig. 6 – Central panel. Coffin of Shedsutauepet (A 110, Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa) –
Fig. 7 – Central panel. Mummy-cover of Padiuamun (A 87, Cairo Egyptian Museum) – Drawing by the author.
Fig. 8 – Central panel. Inner coffin of Tjenetipet (A 119, Cairo Egyptian Museum) – Drawing by the author.
Cynthia May Sheikholeslami
Fig. 1 - Padiamunet’s Canopic Equipment (Luxor Museum J75). Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
Fig. 2 - Ptah-Sokar-Osiris Figure of Padiamunet (after Ancient Egyptian Art, 1952: 39)
Fig. 3 - Padiamunet adoring the divine assessors (Book of the Dead spell 125) on the box of his middle coffin (Luxor Museum J845); notice the lighter areas of colored plaster used to fill and smooth the wooden surface Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
Fig. 4 - Face of Padiamunet from the lid of his middle coffin; missing sections of the red wax have been restored with red coloring (Luxor Museum J845). Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
Fig. 5 - Padiamunet at the door of the hall of judgement (Book of the Dead spell 125 vignette detail) from the box of his middle coffin (Luxor Museum J845). Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
Fig. 6 - The goddess Nut inside the vaulted lid of the qrsw of Padiamunet, with figures of the goddesses of the hours of the night (left, with stars on their heads) and day (right, with sun disks on their heads) flanking her outstreched body (National Mus
Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
Fig. 7 - Head end of the lid of the qrsw of Padiamunet with the rising sun in the center and the emblem of the east on the left and of the west on the right above the figures of the birds and jackals (National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, formerly Nef
Fig. 8 - The day barque of the sun god on the eastern side of the lid of the qrsw of Padiamunet (National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, formerly Neferu register no. 52). Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
Fig. 9 - Padiamunet adoring the text of the second hymn from Book of the Dead 15 and the arriving day barque of the sun god on the lid of his qrsw sarcophagus (National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, formerly Neferu register no. 52). Photo by C. M. Shei
(National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, formerly Neferu register no. 52). Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
Fig. 10 - The night barque of the sun god on the western side of the lid of the qrsw of Padiamunet
Fig. 11 - Head end of the western side of the box of the qrsw of Padiamunet with the false door panel and Imsety in his shrine (National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, formerly Neferu register no. 52).
Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
(Luxor Museum J845). Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
(Luxor Museum J845). Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
Fig. 12 - Vignette of Book of the Dead spell 125 on the exterior of the box of Padiamunet’s middle coffin
Fig. 13 - Detail of the head and shoulders of the lid of the middle coffin of Padiamunet
Fig. 14 - Vignette of Book of the Dead spell 54 on the lid of Padiamunet’s middle coffin (Luxor Museum J845). Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
Fig. 15 - Detail of the face of Padiamunet on his inner coffin lid showing the remains of the red wax covering over the carved wooden face with details of the eyebrows and beard rendered in black wax (National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, formerly Lux
Fig. 16 - Lid of the inner coffin of Padiamunet (National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, formerly Luxor Museum J346). Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
Fig. 17 - Pedestal base with ankh-was-neb decoration on the inner coffin of Padiamunet (National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, formerly Luxor Museum J346). Photo by C. M. Sheikholeslami.
Resurrection in a box: the 25th Dynasty burial ensemble of Padiamunet
Carter Lupton
Table 1 - Divine Processions on Coffins of Eleven-Eleven Style
Table 2 -Examples of Eleven-Eleven Coffins and Sarcophagi
Fig. 1 - MPM A12064. The Coffin of Djed-hor, Lid.
Fig. 2 - CT scan image of the head of mummy MPM A10264, showing trepanation in summit of the cranium (1).
Fig. 3 - MPM A10264. Texts from Coffin’s Right Side.
Fig. 4 - MPM A10264. Texts from Coffin’s Left Side.
Fig. 5 - Ahmose Fragment from Tell el-Baklieh, from Naville 1894, Plate III.
Table 3 - Concordance of Gods and Day-Hours on the Ahmose Fragment from Tell el-Baklieh
Gods at all hours: Saite Period coffins of the ‘eleven-eleven’ type
Jonathan Elias
Part II : Studies on Museums’ Collections and Archaeological Finds
Alexandra Küffer
Fig. 1: Lid of the inner coffin of Gem-tu-es. Courtesy of the Musée Historique Vevey. Photo: pmimage.
Fig. 2: Right side of the coffin, showing the missing parts of lid and case next to the head. Courtesy of the Musée Historique Vevey. Photo: pmimage.
Fig. 3: Detail of the face on the coffin lid. Courtesy of the Musée Historique Vevey.
Photo: pmimage.
Fig. 4: Detail of the lid, showing the mistress of the house Gem-tu-es. Courtesy of the Musée Historique Vevey. Photo: pmimage.
Fig. 5: Interior of the coffin lid, featuring the genealogy of Gem-tu-es. Courtesy of the Musée Historique Vevey. Photo: pmimage.
Fig. 6: Interior of the coffin case, featuring the genealogy of Gem-tu-es. Courtesy of the Musée Historique Vevey. Photo: pmimage.
Fig. 7: The exterior of the coffin case, sculpted as pillar in the middle part. Courtesy of the Musée Historique Vevey. Photo: pmimage.
Fig. 8: The mortal remains of Gem-tu-es kept in a glass vase. Courtesy of the Musée Historique Vevey. Photo: pmimage.
Continuity in times of transition:
the inner coffin of the mistress of the house Gem-tu-es in Vevey (Switzerland)
Egyptian coffins in Portugal
Luís Manuel de Araújo
Alain Dautant1
Fig. 1 - Carte de répartition des collections égyptiennes dans les musées français. En gris, collection égyptienne – En gras souligné, cercueil égyptien des XXIe/XXIIe dynasties – Un étoile indique un cercueil provenant de la seconde cachette de Deir el-B
Fig. 2 - Document d’envoi du lot nº 1. Liste des cercueils rédigée par Émile Brugsch, en 1893, au Musée de Gizeh (Archives nationales de France, AN F/17/17240). La destination finale des objets a été indiquée au crayon au ministère de l’Instruction Publiq
Fig. 3: Numéros des listes A, B et numéros dans le Journal d’Entrée du Musée de Gizeh. Les ensembles figurant sur le document d’envoi du lot n°1 attribués à la France (d’après DARESSY, 1907: 4-14).
Fig. 4: Couvertures de momie: (A) Lyon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, H 2322 (dépôt du Louvre E 10637), couverture de l’ensemble A 8 de Djedkhonsouiouefânkh de la seconde cachette de Deir el-Bahari. (B) Chartres, © Musée des Beaux-arts, 6924. (C) Perpignan, Muséu
sans n° inv. (D) Le Mans, © Musée de Tessé, 1822-17B.
Fig. 5 - Ensemble Bab el-Gousous JE 29629 du prêtre pur d’Amon et scribe du domaine d’Amon Neskafaâ. Amiens, Musée de Picardie, 1893.763.1. Le défunt Neskafaâ, ḥs(y) sȝ n ḥs(y)w, sš n pr Jmn, est en adoration (A) de Ptah-Sokar et (B) de Rê-Horakhty. (C)
(C) Vue latérale du chevet.
Fig. 6 - Ensemble Bab el-Gousous A 36 de la chanteuse d’Amon, Nedjemmout. Boulogne-sur-Mer, Musée-Château. (A) Titres de Nedjemmout sur la cuve. (B) Inscriptions sur le pied du couvercle.
(A) couverture de momie, 3128; (B) couvercle, 3127; (C et D) cuve, 3126.
Fig. 7 - Ensemble Bab el-Gousous A 89 d’une chanteuse d’Amon. Clermont-Ferrand, © Musée Bargoin.
(B) Inscription hiéroglyphique sur le pied du cercueil interne de Bakenkhonsou (Inv. 5195, Conservatoire du Patrimoine des Musées).
Fig. 8 - Ensemble Bab el-Gousous A 25 de Bakenkhonsou. Marseille, Musée d’Archéologie Méditerranéenne. (A) Inscription hiératique sur le pied du cercueil externe (Inv. 5171 - Centre de la Vieille Charité).
Fig. 9 - Cercueils de type stola: (A) Cercueil de Djedhoriouefankh (Mougins, © Musée d’Art Classique, MMoCA.610). (B) Cercueil ‘Arrhenius’ (Mougins, © Musée d’Art Classique, MMoCA.489). (C) Cercueil de Djedmout (La Rochelle, Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, H
Fig. 10: Fragments de cercueils. (A) Bordeaux, © Musée d’Aquitaine, Mesuret 8595. (B) Bourges, © Musée du Berry, 1908.33.26. (C) Chartres, © Musée des Beaux-Arts, 1989.240.1. (D) Paris, Drouot, Lot n°150 - vente du 17/01/2009 © Pierre Bergé. (E) Quimper,
Cercueils jaunes des XXIe et XXIIe dynasties
dans les collections Françaises
Anders Bettum
Table 1. Lot 14 after Daressy 1907.
Table 2. Lot 14 after Niwiński 1988
Table 3. Lot 14 after Aston 2009
Table 4. Lot 14: Coffins and mummy-covers in the museums in Oslo, Stockholm and Uppsala
Table 5. JE-numbers in Doc 1D matched with A and B-numbers
Table 6. The outermost coffins of the ensembles listed in Doc 1D
Table 7. Conclusions from the study of the archive material
Fig. 1 - The head end of this coffin case wall was restored in 1924. The modern boards (above the joint) are slightly thicker than the originals (below the joint), and the inclination of the curve of the head has been restored at a steeper angle, effectiv
Fig. 2 - Evidence of reuse: This mummy-board, inscribed for the lady Nesypernub, has evidently been reused by a man. Three of the most distinct gender markers have been altered superficially: The fingers have been cut off to give the impression of closed
Fig. 3 - The name ‘Ankhsenmut’, spelled with the vertical ‘s’. NME 892, Medelhavsmuseet (Stockholm).
Fig. 4 - The outer coffin of Khonsumes (A121). NME 890, Medelhavsmuseet (Stockholm).
Fig. 5 - Evidence of reuse: The outline of a djed-pillar can be seen at the center of this foot-board. The motif was part of the standard repertoire of coffin decoration from the 18th to the early 21st Dynasty. By the mid 21st Dynasty, to which this coffi
Fig. 6 - Evidence of reuse: Whereas the edge on top of the side walls has a lip to receive the lid, the edge of the wall surrounding the head, which is noticeably higher than the side walls, does not. It is also worth noting that the floor of the coffin i
Fig. 7 - This mummy-cover is a splendid example of the ‘parish-coffins’ used in the mid 21st Dynasty, where open slots were left in the texts for the name of a future owner or owners to be filled in. C47714c, the Museum of Cultural Heritage (Oslo).
Fig. 8 - The foot piece of this coffin lid has broken off, and the two vertical text columns interrupted before the name of the deceased was introduced. The text is the same in both columns, but in the left hand column, a tighter writing and a few cm more
Table 8. Lot 14 reconstructed
Lot 14 from Bab el-Gasus (Sweden and Norway): the modern history of the collection and a reconstruction of the ensembles
Elena Paganini
The coffins of the priests of Amun: a socio-economic investigation on Bab el-Gasus cachette
Coffins without mummies: the Tomb KV 63 in the Valley of the Kings1
Rogério Sousa
Fig. 1 - Coffin A (drawn in situ). Courtesy of Susan Osgood.
Fig. 2 - Coffin A (reconstruction made from available measurments). Courtesy of Susan Osgood.
Courtesy of Susan Osgood.
Courtesy of Susan Osgood.
Fig. 3 – Coffin A (front view).
Fig. 4 – Coffin A (leff facial profile, drawn after excavation and conservation).
Fig. 5 – Coffin A (digital hypothetical composition made from post conservation drawings of fragments). Courtesy of Susan Osgood.