The gilded face of the coffin links the deceased with the sun god and regeneration. Below there is a large elaborate collar with a sun disc beneath. The front of...
The gilded face of the coffin links the deceased with the sun god and regeneration. Below there is a large elaborate collar with a sun disc beneath.
The front of the coffin: The upper register is painted with a central seated Osiris, with text reading: 'Words spoken by Osiris, great god, lord of Rostjau'. To the right the Four Sons of Horus are depicted on a lotus, with the falcon-headed soul of Pe behind. Behind Osiris over an offering table there is another winged disc protecting the god and also protecting him is his wife, Isis, with text reading: 'Words spoken by Isis'. Behind her is Nephthys, with a red cloth over her arm, with text reading: 'Words spoken by Nephthys, given life'. Behind is the jackal-headed soul of Nekhen. Both Pe and Nekhen are named in the register below.
The second register shows a seated falcon-headed deity wearing a sun disc, named as Osiris. He is flanked by winged goddesses and udjats on a basket: both the goddesses are named as Isis. On the right she is 'given life', on the left called 'the great'. To the right a standing falcon-headed god with arms in gesture of jubilation with text reading: 'Words spoken by the Soul of Pe, given life, stability, all dominion, health for ever'. On the left a standing jackal-headed god in a mirror posture, named as 'Soul of Nekhen, given life, stability, dominion, health'. They are the protective deities of Lower and Upper Egypt respectively.
In the third register Anubis tends the mummy on a lion-headed funerary bed with the deceased woman's name below, 'Irtwrw'. To the right stands winged Isis, named as 'the great land divine mother', and to the left there is another winged Isis with an udjat on a basket, named 'the great [...]'.
The lowest panel shows a winged Wadjyt and winged Nekhbet flanking a central column of text. The cobra-headed Wadjyt is named as 'Wadjyt of Dep and Pe (the double capital of Lower Egypt), mistress of per-nw (a Lower Egyptian sanctuary), given all life, stability, dominion, dominion forever'. Nekhbet is represented with a cobra head, with text naming, 'The White One'; the other epithets are missing. The central text reads: 'An offering which the king gives to Osiris foremost of the West, invocation offering of bread and beer for the Osiris'.
The back of the coffin is decorated with the standing winged figure of the goddess Nut, with the three hieroglyphs naming her in front of her face. The goddess wears a long close-fitting sheath dress and bracelets, and holds maat feathers in her hands. The field is filled by palm fronds.
With Jacques Schulman N.V., Amsterdam, 1965 Bodo Bleß (1940-2022) Collection, Berlin, acquired from the above, thence by descent
Literature
Death and the afterlife held particular meaning for the ancient Egyptians and complex funeral preparations and rites were observed to ensure the transition of the deceased from earthly existence to immortality. This impressive piece, intricately painted and inscribed, depicts scenes of the lady Irtwrw's journey into the afterlife. In the rituals for burial ceremonies, spells were cast, and gods invoked, to guarantee her eternal life. The deceased is named only once on the coffin in a scene showing her lying on a funeral bed, while being tended by the jackal headed god of mummification, Anubis. Osiris, the god of the underworld is depicted, along with his wife Isis and the four sons of Horus. The back of the coffin is decorated with the standing winged figure of the goddess Nut, the goddess of the sky and heavens, with the three hieroglyphs naming her.