Inner coffin of Nesmutaatneru

Inner coffin of Nesmutaatneru

Egyptian

Late Period, Dynasty 25

760–660 B.C.

Findspot: Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahari, Temple of Hatshepsut, TG 875

Dimensions

Length: 169 cm (66 9/16 in.)

Beautifully preserved coffin of the mummy of Nesmutaatneru (see 95.1407a). The coffin, of a type that replaced cartonnage cases, takes the form of a mummified body standing on a pedestal and supported in back by a djed-pillar, the hieroglyph for stability and emblem of Osiris. The decoration is brightly painted on a layer of plastered linen. Nesmutaatneru wears a vulture headdress over a long wig, an elaborate broad collar, and a ram-headed pectoral. The body is divided by bands of hieroglyphic text into compartments containing images of deities associated with the afterlife. In the central scene, the deceased lies on a bier surrounded by Isis and Nephthys and surmounted by a winged scarab representing Khepri.

Provenance

From Thebes, Deir el-Bahari, temple of Hatshepsut. 1895: excavated by Edouard Naville for the Egypt Exploration Fund; assigned to the Egypt Exploration Fund by the government of Egypt; 1895: given to the MFA by the Egypt Exploration Fund. (Accession Date: January 1, 1895)

Credit Line

Egypt Exploration Fund by subscription

http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/inner-coffin-of-nesmutaatneru-132440