The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 23, 2022

Coffin of Nesykhonsu

c. 976–889 BC

Part of a set. See all set records

Egypt, Thebes, Third Intermediate Period, late Dynasty 21 (1069-945 BC) to early Dynasty 22

(945-715 BC)

Gessoed and painted sycamore fig

Overall: 70 cm (27 9/16 in.)

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1914.714.a

Location

107 Egyptian

Fun Fact

Two of Nesykhonsu's titles, "Lady of the House" and "Singer of the Choir of Mut the Great," are written on the outside of the coffin.

Description

Egyptian coffins told stories and illustrated spells to help the deceased transition safely to the afterlife. Inside Nesykhonsu's coffin there are two jackals, one facing right and the other left, near the top. Here, the jackal represents the powerful deity Anubis, the god of the afterlife and embalming.

Provenance
Thebes, probably Deir el-Bahri. Purchased from Joseph Hassan Ahmed, Luxor, by Lucy Olcott Perkins through Henry W. Kent
Citations
Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Reproduced: p. 325-335, Color p. 60; Mentioned: p. 325-337
Exhibition history

CMA 1916, no. 87, p. 213

Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1914.714.a