Egyptian Cedar / Painted Gesso Coffin for Iret Horru

Egypt, Late Dynastic Period, 26th Dynasty, Saite Period, ca. 664 to 525 BCE. A stunning inner coffin, carved from finely grained cedar, with an anthropoid lid secured to the mortises of the lower body via several tab-form tenons. A thin layer of white gesso creates the ground for matte black pigment - typically reserved for high-class individuals - as well as a column of yellow hieroglyphic inscription. The characteristically oversized face features a russet-red base color as well as elongated eyes outlined in black, a bulbous nose, thin lips with a delineated philtrum, tall ears, and a black chin strap above a false beard with a rounded lower tip, all beneath a puffy tripartite wig. The hieroglyphic inscription on the front identifies this coffin for Iret-Horru (also Iret-Horrou, Irethorrou), a wealthy priest of Min from the economically thriving city of Akhmim and a prophet of the funerary deity Osiris-Sokar. Size: 19" W x 69.25" H (48.3 cm x 175.9 cm).

Anthropoid coffins like this example first appeared by the Middle Kingdom - skillfully carved so as to outline the mummy's body and decorated with the visage and wig of the deceased individual. Such coffins not only served to copy the mummy's form kept within, but also served as actual substitutes for the bodies in the event that the mummy's body was lost or destroyed. As time progressed, these coffins were decorated with more extensive iconographic programs, presenting a greater number of inscriptions.

This sarcophagus and others like it were traditionally carved from cedar, though cedar was only used by those wealthy families who could afford the exotic hardwood. Interestingly, cedar wood was not native to Egypt. Egypt did not have verdant forests filled with tall trees, and unfortunately most of its native lumber was of relatively poor quality. Thus, they relied on importing to acquire hardwoods - ebony imported from Africa, cedar and pine from Lebanon. One fabulous obelisk inscription by Thutmose III attests to the luxury of treasured hardwoods. It reads as follows, "They brought to me the choicest products . . . consisting of cedar, juniper and of meru wood . . . all the good sweet woods of God's Land." The rarity of cedar meant that coffins like this one were reserved for those who could afford them.

For an example of a strikingly similar coffin carved from limestone, please see: Ikram, Salima and Aidan Dodson. "The Mummy in Ancient Egypt: Equipping the Dead for Eternity." Thames and Hudson, London, 1998, p. 242, fig. 328.

For a greywacke statue of Iret-Horru standing with Osiris, please see The Walters Art Museum, accession number 22.215.

For images of the outer coffin as well as a detailed article on Iret-Horru by curator Dr. Renee Dreyfus and Egyptologist Jonathan P. Elias of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, please see "Mummy by the Bay: Irethorrou, an Egyptian Priest of the Early Persian Period."

Provenance: private J.H. collection, Beaverton, Oregon, USA; ex-private Beverly Hills, California, USA collection

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#149582
Condition Report: Repairs to underside of feet, with chipping and light adhesive residue along break lines. Losses to areas of lower corners of back half of coffin as shown. Chipping to original gesso, with darkening and some areas of fading to original pigmentation commensurate with age and tomb conditions. Great traces of original pigment, and hieroglyphic inscription is still visible.