Art Institute of Chicago

Coffin of Nespahertahat

Egyptian; possibly Deir el-Bahri, Thebes (now Luxor), Egypt

Date

Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21 (about 1069 –945 BCE)

Medium

Wood and pigment

Culture

Egypt

Department

Arts of Africa

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The lid of this anthropoid (human-shaped) coffin represents its owner, Nesi-pa-her-hat, with his arms crossed over his chest. When Nesi-pa-her-hat lived in Thebes (now Luxor) approximately 3000 years ago, elite Egyptians no longer constructed elaborately decorated tomb chapels. Instead, scenes designed to guide and sustain the deceased in the afterlife were painted on nesting sets of wooden coffins. This is the inner coffin of what was likely a set of two that would have added an extra layer of protection. Drawn from contemporary mythological papyri, the intricate painted decoration here presents Nesi-pa-her-hat in the company of the gods and goddesses who protect him in the afterlife.

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