AIC's 45th Annual Meeting

Ancient Egyptians used various materials to made coffins; stone, ceramic and wood. They developed substrates and painting techniques to cover the surface with using different pigments and coatings. Technical studies, investigations and analysis application are important to identify materials and core elements used in the past. This deliberate study aims to analyze a wooden coffin and mummy cartonnage presumably dated to late period. It was found during a working season in the Egyptian Museum basement storage in 2004. The only a single document that contain information about it was found in a report written by Maspero in 1901, indicating that the object entered the museum collection in 1900. It was left unregistered since then. In Maspero's report, he addressed that, it was discovered by Petrie excavating in Lahon, Fayoum. The report includes a black and white photograph shows the object by the time of discovery. The type of the coffin and cartonnage suggests a middle Egypt type of third intermediate and late period. The broad collar, pendants, rosettes and other decorative elements suggesting belonging to the late period stylistic motifs. The central inscription, which is repeated on both the coffin and the cartonnage representing the offering formula addressing the god Osiris. The name of the owner was demolished in both – coffin and cartonnage. The coffin set includes coffin base, lid and a mummy cartonnage. The wooden coffin lid (193 cm long) is made of four wooden planks joined by wooden dowels, the wood base in the central area of the lid is covered by gesso and pigment, pigments vary; white, black, yellow, red and blue. The coffin base (193cm long, 48.5cm width and 34cm height) consists of 13 wooded pieces that form the rectangular shape. Pieces are covered with mud as preparation layer and then were painted in yellow. The coffin base was dismantled into 11 pieces when it was first received in the conservation department. The mummy cartonnage (180cm long) features a woman, the iconography matched in both coffin lid and the mummy cartonnage. It's a mummy covered with 33+ layers of textile then gesso and then painted in bright colors; white, black, red, yellow and blue. The wooden coffin consists multi-layers: wood, gesso layer, additives-under investigation- and painted layer. There are different pigments that used in the decoration of the coffin: white background covered with blue, red, black and yellow for inscription and decorations. The state of the wood is very poor, the coffin is dismantled into many pieces (base, 2 sides and fragments), and some pieces are still joined together by wooden dowels. The head block has areas of loss, cracks, breaks and disjoints. Regarding the mummy cartonnage, the pigment and painting palette is quite similar to the one in the wooden coffin. Its state of preservation appears to be moderately stable except the lower parts that suffer some losses, cracks. The lower part -foot area-has a severe damage.