New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2007.

Coffin Fragment

Artist Unknown

CultureEgyptian

DateLate Period, Dynasty 25-30, 730-343 B.C.E.

MediumCartonnage and polychrome on wood

DimensionsOverall: 1/8 x 3/8 in. (0.3 x 0.9 cm)

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.2259

Collections

Ancient Mediterranean Art

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 109

Label TextCoffin Fragment Late Period, Dynasty 25-30, 730-343 B.C.E. Cartonnage and polychrome on wood Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2259 Composed of plastered layers of linen or papyrus that were molded while wet, cartonnage was used by the ancient Egyptians to form mummy cases and masks that were then brilliantly painted. This cartonnage panel was originally part of a coffin, probably rectangular in shape. It depicts a pair of underworld deities set in shrines, who alternate with a succession of three doorways. Given the panel's tomb context, the doorways likely allude to the journey of the soul after death. As the sun god Re had to pass through different gates during his nightly trip through the underworld, so the newly deceased had to progress through gateways on his perilous journey into the next world.