<em>Panel from the Coffin of a Woman</em>, ca. 2008–1875 B.C.E. Wood, pigment, 17 1/2 x 71 1/2 x 1 1/4 in., 22 lb. (44.5 x 181.6 x 3.2 cm, 9.98kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 1995.112. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1995.112_PS1.jpg)

Panel from the Coffin of a Woman, ca. 2008–1875 B.C.E. Wood, pigment, 17 1/2 x 71 1/2 x 1 1/4 in., 22 lb. (44.5 x 181.6 x 3.2 cm, 9.98kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 1995.112. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1995.112_PS1.jpg)

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The images on this panel represent things the deceased would need in the afterlife. The objects are not gender specific, it is the inscription that identifies this as from a woman's coffin.

In the left section: Jars on a table are understood as containing "unguents," scented ointments. The jars themselves are decorated like imitation-stone which is, itself, based on real, early, carved stone vessels.

In the middle section: On a bed, bundles of embalming materials including linen sit, labeled. Underneath the bed, there are three objects: a canopic chest, a man-made pool, and a sieve or jar stopper.

In the right section: These two are the most every-day items on the panel. On the left is a mirror in a protective sleeve and to the right is a pair of sandals. The mirror has a typical, lotus-shaped handle.

Panel from the Coffin of a Woman

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

This coffin is decorated with hieroglyphic texts invoking both national gods and the local gods of Asyut. The texts also include a prayer for bread, beer, and other offerings in the afterlife. A stand with five jars of oil, a bed with seven linen bags of materials for mummification, a mirror, and a pair of sandals are all depicted on the coffin’s side, magically ensuring their presence in the tomb and with the deceased forever.

MEDIUM Wood, pigment

Possible Place Collected: Asyut, Egypt

DATES ca. 2008–1875 B.C.E.

DYNASTY late Dynasty 11 to early Dynasty 12

PERIOD Middle Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 17 1/2 x 71 1/2 x 1 1/4 in., 22 lb. (44.5 x 181.6 x 3.2 cm, 9.98kg) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 1995.112

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Outer panel from left (east) side of a coffin originally made for a man but appropriated for an unnamed woman. In the invocation offering formula the datival n.k has been altered to n.t. Made of several irregularly shaped wooden pieces doweled together, a not uncommon practice at Asyut. Painted yellow in imitation either of gold or of a coniferous wood. (i.e., to mimic a more expensive wood). The frises d’objets on the exterior is another feature that suggests Asyut as the provenance. Condition: Good overall; unstable areas of polychromy on the left side about 15” from edge, also on right. Loss of paint from black outlines near both short ends.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Panel from the Coffin of a Woman, ca. 2008–1875 B.C.E. Wood, pigment, 17 1/2 x 71 1/2 x 1 1/4 in., 22 lb. (44.5 x 181.6 x 3.2 cm, 9.98kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 1995.112. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1995.112_PS1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 1995.112_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Tell me more.

The images on this panel represent things the deceased would need in the afterlife. The objects are not gender specific, it is the inscription that identifies this as from a woman's coffin.