Fragment of a cartonnage coffin


Accession Number
W944
Current Location
House of Life (first floor), Drawers beneath stelae, Drawer 3
Object Type
Tomb equipment, Coffin/sarcophagus/cartonnage
Period
Third Intermediate Period
Dynasty
Twenty-second Dynasty
Material
Cartonnage
Measurements
Height: 290mm | Width: 200mm
Number of Elements
1
Divine Name
Nekhbet | Wadjet

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Description

This cartonnage fragment from a coffin shows the goddesses Wadjet and Nekhbet bearing knives. Wadjet was a cobra goddess linked with the uraeus. She often takes the form of a lioness goddess and was known as the 'Eye of Re' or 'She of the Papyrus'. She symbolised Lower Egypt. Nekhbet symbolised upper Egypt and was a vulture goddess. It dates from the Twenty-second Dynasty when figures of demons holding knives are often shown on coffins to protect the deceased.

Bibliography

Kákosy, L. 1976. Un couple de démons cryptographique. In Anonymous (ed.), Studia Aegyptiaca [2], 177–180. Budapest: [n.p.].