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Coffin fragment: E.GA.5851.1943

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An image of Coffin fragment
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Current Location: In storage

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Description

Lotus flower from a coffin made from a roughly cut piece of sycomore fig. The flower was originally attached to the elbow of an anthropoid coffin. The lotus, more correctly identified as a water lily, symbolised rebirth due to the way that these plants emerge from water, just as the Egyptians believed the first plants emerged from the primeval waters at the time the world was created.

Measurements and weight

Height: 10.9 cm
Thickness: 1.5 cm
Width: 7.9 cm

Acquisition and important dates

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

Dating

Third Intermediate period
-1070 - -0945

Components of the work

Surface composed of plaster

Materials used in production

Wood

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: E.GA.5851.1943
Primary reference Number: 59526

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Friday 18 July 2025

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 (2025) "Coffin fragment" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/59526 Accessed: 2025-12-05 12:14:27

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/59526 |title=Coffin fragment |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 12:14:27|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-59526

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<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/ant/ant48/E_GA_5851_1943_1_201411_jas244_dc2.jpg"
        alt="Coffin fragment"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Coffin fragment</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>

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