Complete discription of the inner coffin of Nesmutaateru.
The coffin is from the late period from dynasty 25, around 760-660 B.C. The coffin is composed of plastered linen over wood. Length: 169 cm (66 9/16 in.). There are hieroglyphics on exterior of the coffin. It is in fairly good condition, roughly shaped like a female body. There is djed-pillar support in the back. There is bright paint over the linen on the coffin. The colors used in the painting the coffin are red, black, yellow, blue, flesh tone, white, and orange/brown.
She is wearing a headdress over a long black wig. She is depicted as having large dark eyes which are expressed by being painted in black on the face. Very dark defined brows are painted on the face. There is little definition to the mouth and nose areas of the face on the coffin. She is also depicted as having exaggerated ears.
There is a small amount of discoloration on the neck area, tiny dark spot noticed. Underneath the neck there are bands of tiny red hearts painted on the upper shoulder area. There are also depictions of tiny white flowers on the upper shoulder area as well. There is detailed design on these bands painted over the body.
There are hieroglyphs on the coffin which include emblem of Osirus, along with other god’s associated with the afterlife. There are also smaller depictions of Osirus places through out rest of coffin. Osirus spans across the breast of the coffin. The hieroglyphs on the exterior of the coffin depict the process of death in Egyptian culture.
There are six rows of hieroglyph symbols aligned at the bottom of the coffin. Each set of hieroglyphs are divided by bands of blue, green, and orange/brown patterns.
The central panel shows a scarab guarding the mummy by flying over it; it is a sign of protection during the death process. The central band also shows many of the afterlife gods helpful in the transition to the afterlife. There is also a detailed design of bands on the base of the coffin. There is minor damage to base paint of the coffin. T
he base of the coffin has a blue and orange/brown square pattern on it. There is detailed design on the central area of coffin as well as in the upper shoulder area of the coffin.
The coffin is very well preserved; it only has minor damage to it including a discoloration on the neck and minor paint damage on the base. The coffin itself is greatly decorated in bright paint, with very extraordinary detail. The bands around the neck are very small showing that there was great attention to detail.
The detail of the coffin shows that those who were decorating it put much care in to it because they knew the importance of it as a vessel in to the process of crossing in to the afterlife.
The coffin itself depicts the funerary process of the ancient Egyptians. Each panel shows a different step of the process. There are also many detailed paintings of the gods that the Egyptians associated with the death process, they believed that by placing them on the coffin that it would help guide and protect the person on their journey.
