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Coffin: E.GA.4331.1943

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

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Description

Fragment of a wooden coffin board, made of two pieces of wood, showing the goddess Nephthys kneeling on the hieroglyphic sign for gold ‘nwb’. Above Nephthys’s head is her name ‘Nbt-Hwt’. Depictions of Nephthys and her sister Isis were included on coffins to provide protection to the body inside, in the same way that these goddesses protected Osiris’s body.

The figure of Nephthys is painted in black outline and finished in red and green details. The skin has been left unpainted. Several yellow patches are visible. The upper side is also partially covered with a very thin layer of white paste.

The wooden surface is not coated, except the painted areas and the small areas covered with a white plaster-like paste (mentioned above). There are some tool marks, especially on the unpainted side. The unpainted side is also covered with plant fibres and has an inserted wooden dowel, indicating that this side was adhered/connected to another element of the coffin.

Measurements and weight

Height: 0.328 m
Thickness: 0.037 m
Width: 0.184 m

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1943) by Gayer-Anderson, Robert Grenville, Major

Dating

Circa -0664 - -0200

Materials used in production

Wood

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: On the unpainted side, each wooden board is marked “E/GA/4331-1943” in black ink

  • Text: E/GA/4331-1943
  • Type: Pen and ink

Inscription present: The wider board has a paper sticker marked “GA IX 156” in pencil.

  • Text: GA IX 156
  • Type: Paper label

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: E.GA.4331.1943
Primary reference Number: 58790
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Friday 13 August 2021 Last processed: Tuesday 13 June 2023

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/58790 Accessed: 2024-03-29 06:17:32

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/58790 |title=Coffin |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-03-29 06:17:32|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-58790

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        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/ant/ant47/E_GA_4331_1943_1_201506_jas244_dc2.jpg"
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