Mummy Coffin
Dynasty 25, ca. 600 BCE
Martin and Maria Paul Collection, Museum of Man, Balboa Park
"Despite the popularity of this type of coffin in the Middle Kingdom, c. 2040 to 1782 BCE, this example shows subtle changes in style, reflecting its use at a later time period.

The face has been painted green, the color of resurrection, associating it with Osiris, the god of the underworld who had been resurrected by his wife Isis,[Aset]. There is a dark blue wig with yellow borders and a beard attached to the chin and chest over an elaborately beaded collar. Below inlaid bronze eyebrows are the eyes, made from polished limestone with painted irises. The body of the coffin has been painted in an off-white color, perhaps to represent the look of a newly shrouded mummy. Hieroglyphs are painted around the base of the foot box. At the top of the head is a painted Scarab beetle, a symbol of resurrection."

©Joan Ann Lansberry, 2016
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