PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.

Burial practices during the early Ptolemaic period continued age-old Pharaonic traditions. The mummified body was placed in nested anthropoid coffins, the inner typically of wood, the outer either of stone or wood. The large scale of the present example suggests it served as the outer coffin. The quality of the carving of the face with its idealized features and braided chin beard, as well as the extensive gilding for the face and striped headcloth, confirms the high status of the deceased. The coffin was further embellished with an elaborate painted broad collar with falcon-head terminals at the shoulders. For a related example compare the coffin for Hornedjitef, no. 1 in S. Walker and M. Bierbrier, Ancient Faces.