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Details / Information for Coffin of Senbi

Coffin of Senbi

c. 1918–1859 BCE

Egypt, Meir, Middle Kingdom, mid-Dynasty 12, reign of Amenemhat II to Sesostris III

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Medium
gessoed and painted cedar
Measurements
Overall: 70 x 55 cm (27 9/16 x 21 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1914.716
Public Domain
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Location
107 Egyptian
Print

Description

The most common type of coffin during the Middle Kingdom took the shape of a rectangular box with lid. The mummy inside was placed on his left side, facing east, his head behind the two magical eyes. These—in the shape of human eyes, to which have been added the markings of a falcon's head—were supposed to enable him to behold the rising sun, reborn daily. The long horizontal inscriptions are prayers to Anubis (god of embalming) and Osiris (god of the dead) for offerings of food and drink and other items necessary for survival in the afterlife. The short vertical inscriptions place him under the protection of the gods of earth, sky, air, and moisture, as well as various funerary deities.
A rectangular wood coffin is painted with a band of hieroglyphics, a pictorial writing system, running horizontally across it. Four more bands run down in columns and divide the coffin's side into three rectangles. These mostly show the light brown, striated wood with light cream splotches, but the one furthest right features a pair of stylized eyes, looking out. A solid, green band runs along the lid's upper edge and two sides.

Coffin of Senbi

c. 1918–1859 BCE

Egypt, Meir, Middle Kingdom, mid-Dynasty 12, reign of Amenemhat II to Sesostris III

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