Coffin bottom board

Coffin bottom board

The bottom board of a coffin with on its inner face a representation of a standing goddess. She is wearing a band of cobras on her head on top of which the Hathor crown is placed - a double falcon's feather, cow's horns and a solar disk. Over her tripartite wig lies the golden vulture's cap, and a broad collar composed of four rows covers her neck and shoulders. The tight dress, which is suspended by two shoulder straps, has a decoration of vulture wings wrapped around the body. The goddess holds a heka-scepter in her right hand together with an ankh-sign. A number of small-scale beings are painted around her, among which is a Ba-bird with a human head in frontal view and a figure of Anubis with a jackal's head. In addition, there are emblematic hieroglyphs rendered with much detail and in full colour. The goddess is the Mistress of the West, the necropolis, she is Isis who mourns the deceased Osiris. At the same time, she is Hathor as a goddess of heaven, giving life to the deceased.

Present location KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM [09/001] VIENNA
Inventory number 232
Dating 20TH DYNASTY (not before); 21ST DYNASTY ?; 21ST DYNASTY (not after)
Archaeological Site UNKNOWN
Category COFFIN/SARCOPHAGUS BOTTOM
Material WOOD; PLASTER; LINEN
Technique PAINTED
Height 120 cm
Width 41 cm
Depth 2.5 cm



Bibliography•Demel, H., Aegyptische Kunst (1947) 21, Abb. 4 (Druckfehler!).
•Niwinski, A., 21st Dynasty Coffins from Thebes. Chronological and Typological Studies (1988) 176, Nr. 409.
•Seipel, W. (ed.), Götter Menschen Pharaonen, Speyer (1993) = Dioses, Hombres, Faraones, Ciudad de México (1993) = Das Vermächtnis der Pharaonen, Zürich (1994), Kat.Nr. 146.
•Satzinger, H., Das Kunsthistorische Museum in Wien. Die Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung. Zaberns Bildbände zur Archäologie 14. Mainz. 1994.

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