Terms and conditions of use
Base from the outer anthropoid coffin of Iret-[en]-Hor-eru
747 BCE-600 BCE
Medium
wood, gesso, pigment
Measurements
33.0 × 62.0 × 193.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1938
© Public Domain
Gallery location
18th Century Decorative Arts - Great Hall Costume Corridor
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Coffins were used to offer protection to the deceased in the afterlife. The hieroglyphs on the exterior of this coffin base request food offerings for the next life from the creator gods Ra-Horakhty and Atum, and from Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, a composite god of resurrection. The interior shows the sun’s disc, representing (Hor)- Behdet, Lord of Heaven, above the falcon-headed representation of Ptah-Sokar, who is encircled by a protective yellow serpent. On the sides of the coffin are the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, and at the foot is the shen symbol representing eternity. All these deities and symbols protected the body that lay in the coffin.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Egypt
Accession Number
D144-1982
Department
Antiquities
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Physical description
Base of an outer anthropoid coffin. All the surfaces are covered in a layer of gesso and painted.
Outside top edge: decorated with a band of chrysanthemums.
Exterior sides: decorated with a continuous band of inscription, starting at left side bottom, between framing lines.
Exterior base: surface completely gone.
Inside base: displays a figure of the god Ptah Sokar wearing the atef crown and uraeus and holding a 'was'-sceptre. The god is falcon-headed with a human body on a standard and is clothed in a head cloth, collar and cross-hatched bandaging. The name is at the head. Around the edge of the base and encasing the figure is a uraeus.
Inside left side: depicts the goddess Isis on a standard; Inside head of coffin: depicts a sun disc with uraeii and 'ankh' signs; the rays of the sun are shown as drops. Inside right side: depicts the goddess Nephthys on a standard.
The owner's name is 'Iret-[en]-Hor-eru', son of 'Djed-Ptah-f-Ankh'.