Egyptian / Coffin of Khnum-nakht / ca. 1900-1800 B.C.E.

Egyptian
Coffin of Khnum-nakht
ca. 1900-1800 B.C.E.
View Larger Image

View Full Catalog Record Below

This image is one of over 108,000 from the AMICA Library (formerly The Art Museum Image Consortium Library- The AMICO Library™), a growing online collection of high-quality, digital art images from over 20 museums around the world. www.davidrumsey.com/amica offers subscriptions to this collection, the finest art image database available on the internet. EVERY image has full curatorial text and can be studied in depth by zooming into the smallest details from within the Image Workspace.

Preview the AMICA Library™ Public Collection in Luna Browser Now

Cultures and time periods represented range from contemporary art, to ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian works.
Types of works include paintings, drawings, watercolors, sculptures, costumes, jewelry, furniture, prints, photographs, textiles, decorative art, books and manuscripts.

Gain access to this incredible resource through either a monthly or a yearly subscription and search the entire collection from your desktop, compare multiple images side by side and zoom into the minute details of the images. Visit www.davidrumsey.com/amica for more information on the collection, click on the link below the revolving thumbnail to the right, or email us at amica@luna-img.com .

Creator Nationality: African; North African; Egyptian
Creator Name-CRT: Egyptian
Title: Coffin of Khnum-nakht
Title Type: Object name
View: Full View
Creation Start Date: -190
Creation End Date: -180
Creation Date: ca. 1900-1800 B.C.E.
Object Type: Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Classification Term: Funerary Containers
Materials and Techniques: Painted wood
Dimensions: L. 82 in. (208.3 cm)
AMICA Contributor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: New York, New York, USA
ID Number: 15.2.2
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1915
Rights: http://www.metmuseum.org/
Context:

The brilliantly painted exterior of the coffin of Khnum-nakht, an individual unknown except for his name, displays the multiplicity of texts and decorative panels characteristic of coffin decoration in the second half of Dynasty 12. It has at least one feature-the figure of the goddess on the head end-that is rare before the late Middle Kingdom. The figures and hieroglyphs have been drawn by the confident hand of a skilled artist and each hieroglyph has been carefully painted in the prescribed manner of the time and place in which the coffin was made.

On the left side of the coffin box there is an architectural facade with a small doorway in the center at the bottom. This is the equivalent of the Old Kingdom false door, which allowed the spirit of the deceased to move between the land of the dead and the land of the living. In this case, it is painted to resemble two wooden door leaves secured with two door bolts. Above the door are two eyes that look forth into the land of the living. The face of the mummy would have been directly behind this panel. The rest of the exterior is inscribed with invocations to, and recitations by, various primeval deities, particularly those associated with death and rebirth, such as Osiris, foremost god of the dead, and Anubis, god of embalming.

AMICA ID: MMA_.15.2.2
AMICA Library Year: 2000
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art

AMICA PUBLIC RIGHTS: a) Access to the materials is granted for personal and non-commercial use. b) A full educational license for non-commercial use is available from Cartography Associates at www.davidrumsey.com/amica/institution_subscribe.html c) Licensed users may continue their examination of additional materials provided by Cartography Associates, and d) commercial rights are available from the rights holder.