Upper Egypt, Akhmim, Ptolemaic period, 305-30 BC
Wood
L176.0 cm
Purchased through: R J Moss & Co. Acquired in 1898.
EA 29776
Djeho's inner coffin is a classic example of an anthropoid mummy-case made for a man of high status. The divine qualities attained by the deceased in the next life are indicated by the application of gold leaf to the face and by the blue colouring of the wig; texts record that the gods were supposed to have flesh of gold and hair of lapis lazuli. Djeho's plaited and curled false-beard is another sign of his elevation to a higher state of being. The rectangular pedestal which supports the feet emphasises the coffin's sculptural qualities, and makes an allusion to the Opening of the Mouth – the ritual by which the mummy, placed upright at the entrance to the tomb – was reanimated. The images and texts below Djeho's large amuletic collar are associated with the safeguarding of the dead man in the hereafter. Over the breast is painted a figure of the sky-goddess Nut, with wings outstretched in a gesture of protection and flanked by wedjat-eyes. A vignette beneath shows the mummy of the deceased on a bier, with canopic jars below, flanked by figures of Isis and Nephthys in mourning. Below, a hieroglyphic inscription in vertical columns assures Djeho of the protection of Nut, while figures of deities armed with knives ward off any hostile entities that may threaten his security. At the foot of the lid are two figures of the jackal embalmer-god Anubis, whose role was to mummify the dead and to protect them in their tombs. These figures are rotated through 180 degrees to make them visible to the spirit of the deceased looking out through the painted eyes of the coffin-mask.
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