Egyptian Polychrome Coffin Section with Anubis

Late Period, 664-332 BC. A rectangular section from a wooden coffin with Anubis in canine form, the feather of Ma'at between the front legs, flail above, polychrome bands of vertical columns below; remains of hieroglyphic text reading: 'words spoken by Anubis foremost (of the divine booth)...' to the right; mounted on a custom-made display stand. Cf. the Brooklyn Museum, accession number 37.2045E, for a slightly earlier coffin fragment with a pair of Anubis figures. 522 grams, 20 x 20cm (605 grams total, 21.5cm high including stand) (8 x 8 (8 1/2)"). Acquired mainly during the 1950s-1970s. Collection of Hugh Stanley Russell (1924-2000"). Bonhams, London, 20 October 2005, lot 8 (part"). Private collection of Egyptologist Paul Whelan, Hertfordshire, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the relevant Bonhams catalogue pages. Anubis was the ancient Egyptian god of death, embalming, mummification, tombs, the afterlife and the Underworld, usually taking the form of a black canine or a canine-headed man; the black colour symbolising regeneration, the discolouration of the corpse and the fertile soil of the Nile. One of the roles of Anubis was to perform the 'weighing of the heart' ceremony in which the heart of the deceased is weighed against a feather of truth to determine if the person was worthy of entering the Duat.
Condition Report: Fine condition.