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Coffin of Khnumnakht
Coffin of Khnumnakht
Egypt, dynasty 13
From Middle Egypt; Khashaba excavations
The decoration in general: This magnificent coffin of simple rectangular shape exemplified the best of late Middle Kingdom coffin decoration. In main decorative scheme is derived from ancient Egyptian building with niched walls, a type of architecture best known from the enclosure wall around the step pyramid of King Djoser as Saqqara that is thought to reproduce a royal residence. During the Old Kingdom and the Twelfth Dynasty, royal stone sarcophagi were decorated with small three dimensional niches, transforming the mummy's resting place into a king of otherworldly royal residence. In this as in many other Middle Kingdom non-royal wooden coffins, the motif appears in paint with the niches taking the form of elongated rectangles alternating with bands of hieroglyphics.
On the head board, a nameless goddess is depicted, her arms seeming upraised. This is the Egyptian was to represent arms outstretched to embrace the mummy in the coffin. On her head, the goddess carries two ointment vases on a standard. The Egyptian rejuvenating effects of cosmetic substances made all ointments important items in The Egyptian funerary customs and beliefs.
The eye panel: At the head end of what would have been the long east side of the coffins, a door and above two huge eyes are painted. Since mummies in rectangular coffins were usually placed on their sides during the Middle Kingdom, this painting corresponded directly with the face of the mummy inside the coffin. The inclusion of the door and eyes obviously expresses the belief that the dead person could be reached from - communicate with - the outside world through the plank of the coffin. The impressive eyes are not just ordinary human eyes but what Egyptians called wedjat (sound), a Combination of human eyes, eyebrows, and "cosmetic lines" with vertical feathers patterns below the eyes of falcons and the oblique, wire-like marking on cheetah's faces.
The wedjat, or Eye "of Horus," was the center of one of the most popular legends of ancient Egypt. Inspired no doubt by the setting and rising of the sun and the waxing and waning of the moon, the mythological "Eye of Horus" was believe to have been periodically damaged and then healed again. In the guise of the wedjat, the eyes on this and other coffins, therefore, endowed the deceased with the regenerative powers of nature.
Coffin of Khnumnakht
Coffin of Khnumnakht
Egypt, dynasty 13
From Middle Egypt; Khashaba excavations
The decoration in general: This magnificent coffin of simple rectangular shape exemplified the best of late Middle Kingdom coffin decoration. In main decorative scheme is derived from ancient Egyptian building with niched walls, a type of architecture best known from the enclosure wall around the step pyramid of King Djoser as Saqqara that is thought to reproduce a royal residence. During the Old Kingdom and the Twelfth Dynasty, royal stone sarcophagi were decorated with small three dimensional niches, transforming the mummy's resting place into a king of otherworldly royal residence. In this as in many other Middle Kingdom non-royal wooden coffins, the motif appears in paint with the niches taking the form of elongated rectangles alternating with bands of hieroglyphics.
On the head board, a nameless goddess is depicted, her arms seeming upraised. This is the Egyptian was to represent arms outstretched to embrace the mummy in the coffin. On her head, the goddess carries two ointment vases on a standard. The Egyptian rejuvenating effects of cosmetic substances made all ointments important items in The Egyptian funerary customs and beliefs.
The eye panel: At the head end of what would have been the long east side of the coffins, a door and above two huge eyes are painted. Since mummies in rectangular coffins were usually placed on their sides during the Middle Kingdom, this painting corresponded directly with the face of the mummy inside the coffin. The inclusion of the door and eyes obviously expresses the belief that the dead person could be reached from - communicate with - the outside world through the plank of the coffin. The impressive eyes are not just ordinary human eyes but what Egyptians called wedjat (sound), a Combination of human eyes, eyebrows, and "cosmetic lines" with vertical feathers patterns below the eyes of falcons and the oblique, wire-like marking on cheetah's faces.
The wedjat, or Eye "of Horus," was the center of one of the most popular legends of ancient Egypt. Inspired no doubt by the setting and rising of the sun and the waxing and waning of the moon, the mythological "Eye of Horus" was believe to have been periodically damaged and then healed again. In the guise of the wedjat, the eyes on this and other coffins, therefore, endowed the deceased with the regenerative powers of nature.