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Coffin: E.88.1903

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Object information

Current Location: Gallery 19

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Description

This anthropoid (human-shaped) coffin was found at Beni Hasan, in tomb 132, inside a rectangular coffin very like Nakht’s (E.68.1903). Pottery from the same tomb, together with the form of the outer coffin (now at the University of Liverpool), suggests a date late in the Twelfth Dynasty (about 1855 – 1790 BC). The coffin decoration shows Userhet prepared for burial, as if the coffin itself is meant to perform the function of the white linen wrappings around his body and the mask over his face. Like earlier mummies, this coffin lay on its side, so that the eyes were close to the eyes painted on the outside of the rectangular coffin. Userhet’s face is painted black, a colour associated with Osiris, and the line of inscription down his front identifies him with that god, beginning ‘O Osiris, warrior Userhet’. The title ‘warrior’ is not common at this period and was not used for others buried in this cemetery; it may signify Userhet’s status locally rather than being a military title. The rest of the text, like that on the coffin of Nakht, calls on Nut to spread herself over him. The decoration on Userhet’s chest represents a broad collar of coloured beads, a feature that occurs on many later coffins. The coffin was given to the Museum by the Beni Hasan Excavation Committee.

Measurements and weight

Height: 33.2 cm
Length: 182.4 cm
Width: 41.2 cm

Find spot

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1903) by The Beni Hasan Excavation Committee

Dating

12th Dynasty#
Middle Kingdom
-1855 BCE - -1790 BCE

Materials used in production

Wood

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: E.88.1903
Primary reference Number: 50697
Oldadmincategory: SS
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Friday 26 March 2021 Last processed: Wednesday 28 February 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Antiquities

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Coffin" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/50697 Accessed: 2024-04-23 19:32:05

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/50697 |title=Coffin |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-23 19:32:05|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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