Photograph by Ed Pollard, Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II digital slr-2009.

Sarcophagus of Psamtik-Seneb

Artist Unknown

CultureEgyptian

DateLate Period, Dynasty 26, 664-525 B.C.E.

MediumGray schist

Dimensions86 in., estimated 10,000-17,000 lbs

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.2254

Collections

Ancient Mediterranean Art

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 109

DescriptionGray schist sarcophagus of Psamtik-Seneb (Doctor of Medicine). Late XXVI dynasty. From his tomb discovered at Heliopolis, 1931/32 A.D. Inscribed around and across top with hieroglyphs from the Book of the Dead, prob. 65th chapter. A "production" sarcophagus to be personalized by buyer. Outer anthropoid sarcophagus composed of a box and its lid. The box is broken on top of the head and in the corner of the deceased's left foot, where a piece of stone is missing. But this crack must be ancient, for the hieroglyphic inscription follows and covers it. A long crack runs around the lid but has been plastered. The lid shows an idealized face of the deceased with a long hair and an up-turned braided false-beard. He's wearing a broad necklace made of 12 rows of beads, alternatively flowers and geometrical patterns, with a falcon head on each shoulder. Underneath this collar is the figure of a goddess: she's half kneeling half crouching, spreading her winged arms and holding a feather in each hand. She's wearing a sun-disk on her head, a headband, a broad necklace and a tight long dress. The space between the goddess and the feet of the sarcophagus is filled with a frame divided into eight columns. Those on the left and right show four standing deities, turned toward the center of the frame. In the left column, from top to bottom, are an anthropoid god, another god now erased by the crack, a second anthropoid god, and a falcon-headed god, carrying a jar before him. In the right column are a baboon-headed deity, a falcon-headed god, another one erased by the crack, and a last one of whom remains only the tip of an animal head. Between these two columns are six vertical lines of hieroglyphs.The box of the sarcophagus is plain and without any decoration but one line of text running around it.
Label TextSarcophagus of Psamtik-Seneb Late Period, Dynasty 26, 664-525 B.C.E. Schist, 86 in., estimated 10,000-17,000 lb. Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2254 Carved of stone, alabaster, or another highly durable material, the sarcophagus served as the protective outer receptacle for the mummy, with the wooden coffin (or several layers of coffins) nested inside it. Such elaborate and costly burial boxes were typically reserved for the elite. When this sarcophagus was unearthed in a tomb near Cairo in 1931, the burial chamber contained alabaster canopic jars (to hold the deceased's organs) and numerous shabties, additional signs that the deceased had been a wealthy man in life. By then the sarcophagus had already been opened and emptied by tomb robbers. The hieroglyphs on the sarcophagus identify the deceased as Psamtik-Seneb, "the scorpion charmer." In ancient Egypt, scorpion charmers were healers who treated scorpion stings and snakes bites, a crucial job in a land where venomous insects and animals constantly threatened men and cattle. The pharaohs themselves had scorpion charmers in their service and included them on royal expeditions to safeguard against snake and insect bites. Published ReferencesParke-Bernet _Sale Catalog_, 18 Dec. 1970, lot 40, ill., ex. coll: CAMOP. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 17, fig. 5. The University of California at Berkeley, _The Book of the Dead in 3D_, accessible at https://3dcoffins.berkeley.edu/coffins/chrysler-museum-art-712254 and https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/cma-712254-psamtik-seneb-33e8ca175ff84d798402fb981cb71cf5 (June 2020).