Aswan Pink Granite
Dim. 40 x 32 cm
Egypt, New Kingdom, 1295th-1069th dynasty, XNUMX-XNUMX BC. J.-C.
Origin
Former private collection, Italy
Former private collection BC, England
Correspondence between Mr Cooper and the Assistant Keeper of the British Museum, 2001
Former private collection, Paris
Upper part of the face placed in the direction of the East and appearing on the right a pair of eyes (those of the deceased) in order to be able to contemplate the rising sun.
In the field on the left, two hieroglyphic columns mentioning a formula taken from Chap. 161 of the Book of the Dead: "Words said by Toth: (As) Ra lives, (so) the tortoise dies" The text continuing on the second column (left) is a variant of the formula "Let the sarcophagus suffer".
Both the stone sarcophagi and the wooden coffins of the New Kingdom are the prerogative of dignitaries, members of the clergy or the administration of the State, who naturally constitute a very small proportion of the Egyptian population.
An Egyptian Ramesside Asswan pink granite sarcophagus fragment, Dynasty 19th-20th, 1295-1060 BC
Upper part of the face placed in the direction of the east and appearing on the right a pair of eyes (those of the deceased) in order to be able to contemplate the rising sun. The eyes were engraved at head height, the deceased who remained on the side, could look outwards and participate in the sunrise.
In the field on the left, two hieroglyphic columns mentioning a formula taken from Chap. 161 of the Book of the Dead: "Words said by Toth: (As) Ra lives, (so) the tortoise dies" The text continuing on the second column (left) is a variant of the formula "Let the sarcophagus suffer".
Both the stone sarcophagi and the wooden coffins of the New Kingdom are the prerogative of dignitaries, members of the clergy or the administration of the State, who naturally constitute a very small proportion of the Egyptian population.
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