Mummy Case Lid

This anthropoid mummy case is made of cartonnage, a material consisting of several layers of linen or papyrus pasted together and covered by a thin layer of plaster and painted. The case originally contained the mummy of a man named Nebnetcheru, who was a priest with the title of God’s Father of Amun at Karnak Temple. Traces of gold on the face indicate that the deceased has been represented as a divine being with gold skin.

The entire coffin lid is covered with solar, funerary, and protective imagery. The gods Horus, Anubis, Osiris, Thoth, Isis, Nephthys, and Hathor in the form of a cow, among others, appear. In the area of the legs, there is a vertical column of text containing a request for offerings. The deceased’s name and title also appear in this location.

Some of the scenes are vignettes illustrating chapters of the Book of the Dead, a funerary text that often was included with grave goods. The main scene, on the chest, shows the deceased in a white linen garment being presented to Osiris, king of the underworld, by Horus and Thoth. Behind Osiris stand his sisters, Isis and Nephthys, and an underworld deity. Several protective amulets are represented in the lowermost register.

When acquired by the Museum in 1924, the case was intact and closed. It was opened in 1933 to remove the mummy (E14344A). The bottom is now separate (E14344B).