<em>Anthropoid Coffin of the Servant of the Great Place, Teti</em>, ca. 1339–1307 B.C.E. Wood, pigment, Box with lid in place: 33 7/16 x 26 3/16 x 83 1/2 in., 248 lb. (85 x 66.5 x 212.1 cm, 112.5kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.14Ea-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.14E_front_PS1.jpg)

Anthropoid Coffin of the Servant of the Great Place, Teti, ca. 1339–1307 B.C.E. Wood, pigment, Box with lid in place: 33 7/16 x 26 3/16 x 83 1/2 in., 248 lb. (85 x 66.5 x 212.1 cm, 112.5kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.14Ea-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.14E_front_PS1.jpg)

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What does the dog on the top of the coffin represent?

This image of a black dog is associated with the god Anubis. Anubis was a guardian of cemeteries and the deceased. He was believed to assist the soul on its journey to the afterlife.

Is there a body inside this coffin?

No, Teti’s remains are no longer inside of his coffin.

What does the large eye on each shoulder mean?

This is the Eye of Horus, or wedjat. It symbolizes health, rejuvenation, and prosperity. On a coffin like this, it also provides a symbolic way for the deceased inside to see out. You’ll notice this symbol a lot in ancient Egyptian art!

What does the text say?

We know Teti’s name and title, Servant of the Great Place because they are written on the coffin. The text also includes words from Teti addressed to the gods as well as words from various gods bestowing honor upon Teti.

For example, Osiris says, “You son Teti. justified, heir of the prince of the West, you Horus, born of Isis, I have given [to you] the necropolis; its arms are behind you; may you live for ever, the Osiris Teti, justified before the great god.”

Who is the person painted on top of the head?

This is an image of the goddess Nepthys. She was the sister of Isis who is depicted at the bottom of the foot of this coffin. They are often paired together in funerary equipment mourning over the deceased as they mourned over their murdered brother Osiris. Their raised arms are a symbol of mourning.

Who was Teti?

Teti is identified as a "Servant of the Great Place," which was the title given to the artists and artisans who worked on the tombs of the Theban cemeteries. These workers lived in an isolated village in the hopes that it would keep the location of royal and elite tombs—like the Valley of the Kings—a secret from potential looters.

How did an artisan afford such a luxurious coffin?

Like today, it required saving. A coffin like this may have cost him a year’s salary.

It’s also important to remember that, as someone who worked on elite tombs himself, Teti also would have had special connections to the kinds of artists and artisans who made the finest funerary equipment.

Very cool!

Who are the gods on this side of the coffin?

Coming up from the feet on Teti's left side are Thoth, Qebehsenuef, Anubis, and Hapy.

Qebehsenuef and Hapy are two of the four sons of Horus. The other two, Duamutef, and Imsety, are on the other side of the coffin with repeated images of Thoth and Anubis. The sons of Horus are associated with mummification and the journey to the afterlife.

Anubis is a god of mummification and the journey to the afterlife as well. Thoth was important on the coffin because he is thought of as all-knowing and an important judge that helps to determine access to the afterlife.

What's the significance of the image on the bottom of the foot?

This is an image of the goddess Isis. It pairs with an image of a Nephthys painted at the top of the head. The two goddesses were sisters and regarded as the archetypal mourners. Images of them were common in funerary equipment so that they could mourn over the deceased they mourned over the murdered Osiris.

In fact, the hieroglyph you see on the lower portion of the sarcophagus is "djed" which means strength and endurance. It is believed that the form is meant to represent Osiris's spine!

What does the bird across the chest symbolize?

This particular bird is a vulture and it spreads its wings in a gesture of protection toward the deceased. If you look closely at each of its feet, it holds the hieroglyph shen which also has connotations of protection. In ancient Egypt the vulture was associated with a number of maternal goddesses including Nekhbet, Mut, Nut, and Isis.

Anthropoid Coffin of the Servant of the Great Place, Teti

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Funerary Gallery 1, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

About this Brooklyn Icon
The Brooklyn Museum is commemorating its 200th anniversary by spotlighting 200 standout objects in its encyclopedic collection.

A coffin was the most important part of ancient Egyptians’ funerary equipment. This is one of the earliest preserved examples of a yellow painted coffin. It would have been commissioned by the deceased, a man named Teti, or his family.

Teti was an artist in Deir el-Medina, a vibrant community of scribes, artisans, workers, and their families (not unlike Brooklyn!). Teti was not particularly wealthy, and his coffin was painted yellow to imitate gold gilding on more expensive examples.

Despite his economic status, Teti had knowledge of his peers’ artistic innovations and of elite religious texts due to his trade and residence. Inscribed on the coffin’s sides is Spell 151 from the Book of the Dead. Also pictured are a variety of Egyptian deities speaking words to protect Teti’s body. The white buildings painted on the sides and top represent the embalming tent where mummification occurred. The inscription running down the front of the coffin is dedicated to the goddess Nut.

Teti would have been buried in the hills above Deir el-Medina, in an area called s.t-mAat or “the place of truth.” His family would have visited his tomb to leave offerings and ask for his blessing.

***

Gallery Label

Among the greatest desires of Egyptians during the New Kingdom period was a proper burial. This coffin was made for the artisan Teti, a "Servant of the Great Palace," who painted tombs in the Valley of the Kings He paid nearly a year's salary for or such quality, with five colors used for the decoration—blue, yellow, red, black, and white. The yellow background with red streaks mimics the gilded coffins of the wealthy

MEDIUM Wood, pigment

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS

Possible place made: Thebes (Deir el-Medina), Egypt
Reportedly from: Thebes (vicinity), Egypt

DATES ca. 1339–1307 B.C.E.

DYNASTY mid to late Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS Box with lid in place: 33 7/16 x 26 3/16 x 83 1/2 in., 248 lb. (85 x 66.5 x 212.1 cm, 112.5kg) 37.14Ea Lid: 19 7/8 x 26 3/16 x 83 1/2 in., 120 lb. (50.5 x 66.5 x 212.1 cm, 54.4kg) 37.14Eb Box: 13 9/16 x 26 3/16 x 83 1/2 in., 128 lb. (34.5 x 66.5 x 212.1 cm, 58.1kg) (show scale)

INSCRIPTIONS "O Mother Nut stretch yourself over me! Place me among the imperishable stars, let me not die forvever, the Osiris Teti." [Dodson, Aidan, and Wendy Raver article translation]

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 37.14Ea-b

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

PROVENANCE Archaeological provenance not yet documented, probably from Deir el-Medina, Thebes, Egypt; 1848, acquired in Egypt by Henry Anderson; 1864, gift of Henry Anderson to the New-York Historical Society, New York, NY; 1937, loaned by the New-York Historical Society to the Brooklyn Museum; September 1948, purchased from the New-York Historical Society by the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Anthropoid form, in two parts, a box and cover, the box sloping from head to foot with a drop of 24cm. The under part is shaped to the form of the mummy, with the calves of the legs and position of knees indicated in relief as on the bands of the wig. The ears overlap the wig of which the two breast tabs are shown in relief. There is no indication of the arms. Interior of both cover and box stuccoed white with no decoration. Three inscribed lengthwise bandages run down the middle of cover crossed by four other bandages passing theoretically completely around the body, but they are not represented on the under surface of the box which is stuccoed, painted yellow but not varnished. Each side divided into five panels by the bandages; on each side the panel, just under the shoulders, contains an Horus eye above a pylon. Deities are pictured in the other panels. On the left side they are Hapy, Anubis, Kebehsenuef and Thoth; on the right side, Imsety, Anubis, Dwa-Mutef and Thoth. A large Djed sign represented on top of the head is surmounted by small figure of Nepthys. Condition: various open joints and cracks. Several small pieces missing from lower part of wig. General condition is good.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Funerary Gallery 1, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Anthropoid Coffin of the Servant of the Great Place, Teti, ca. 1339–1307 B.C.E. Wood, pigment, Box with lid in place: 33 7/16 x 26 3/16 x 83 1/2 in., 248 lb. (85 x 66.5 x 212.1 cm, 112.5kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.14Ea-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.14E_front_PS1.jpg)

IMAGE front, 37.14E_front_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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