Museum inventory number: 8528
Length: 188 cm; Width (max): 51 cm
Wood, plaster, paint and varnish.
Decorated with multicoloured paintwork and profuse use of moulded plaster. The reverse side of the object is undecorated, as well as the underside of the footboard.
The object is preserved in good condition. Some cracks affect the headboard, and the footboard. The hands, previously attached to the lid, had been ripped off.
Iconography
Headboard
A large multicoloured headband decorated with lotus petals and geometrical motifs adorns the wig (Figs. 40–41). A bunch of three lotus flowers hangs from the crown of the head. The austere face is well carved. The skin is yellow and the contours of the eyes and eyebrows are outlined in black. Unlike the outer lid, the pupils (black) are painted against a yellow background. A red line is traced to suggest the contours of the lips, nostrils and eye-lids. On the neck, two red horizontal lines depict creases on the throat.1
The round earrings are moulded and decorated with multicoloured rosettes.
The wig is decorated with a checkered pattern and, because of that, the lappets are not decorated with binding bands.2
Upper Section
The breasts (moulded in plaster) figure below the lappets of the wig featuring small rosettes. The elbows are decorated with large multicoloured lotus flowers. The forearms are hidden under the floral collar (Figs. 40–41).
The area comprised between the lappets of the wig presents a short collar composed of nine transversal bands decorated with pearl-beaded motifs.3
The floral collar is large, displaying twelve bands, but the variety of floral patterns is reduced, showing checkered motifs (2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th registers), persea-tree buds (3rd, 7th, 11th bands), lotus petals (5th, 9th bands) and lotus flowers intertwined with acacia flowers (1st band).
On the chest, between the breasts and the hands, lies a pectoral depicting a winged scarab (moulded) holding up a solar disk in its forelegs and grasping the shen-ring with the hind legs. The sun-disk is flanked by cobras and sacred vultures.
Central Panel
The central panel is composed of nine registers, displaying large winged deities (2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th registers) or symmetrical compositions (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th registers). This unusually long tableau required all the available space on the lid and for this reason the pictorial scheme typically used in the lower section was omitted (Figs. 44/301). Some of the motifs of the composition are moulded in plaster to suggest relief, such as the scarabs, the bodies of the enthroned gods, the hwt-thrones, and the dresses of the winged goddesses. The tableau is bounded by longitudinal bands of text (Inscriptions 1–2) that run down the edges.
The nuclear block of the first register shows a sacred scarab holding up a solar disk in its forelegs while the shen-ring figures between the hind legs (Fig. 42). The scarab is flanked by large tjet-signs hanging from the iaret-cobras. Centrifugal blocks display the enthroned mummiform Osiris. He has a curled beard, wears the hedjet-crown and grasps the royal scepters. The centripetal blocks display a winged goddess squatted on a high platform outstretching her wings towards Osiris. The head of the goddess is adorned with long red streamers and a sun-disk encircled by a cobra wearing the hedjet-crown. The avian manifestation of the deceased rests under her wings, also wearing long red streamers. The centripetal block includes a standing mummiform god, with curled beard, and wearing the hedjet-crown. He figures under a vaulted shrine with an offering table at his feet (only on the right side). Above, the following labels can be found: ‘Osiris’ (before the head of the enthroned gods), ‘The great god of the Duat’ (before the head of the winged goddesses) and ‘The great god, lord of the Duat’ (before the standing mummiform deities).
In the second register a large kneeling goddess outstretches her wings towards both sides of the lid. She is green-skinned and wears a tight dress (blue). Her head is decorated with the modium and a headband. A geometric frieze is arranged above the wings of the goddess.
The third register recalls the composition of the first, with slight differences: the squatting goddesses are identified as ‘Neith’ and the standing mummiform gods wear a long wig adorned with an unguent cone and a lotus bud.
The fourth register repeats the composition of the second one (Fig. 43).
The fifth register introduces variations to the scheme described above. The centrifugal blocks depict a kneeling mummiform Osiris, and the centripetal blocks now include a winged cobra crowned with the sun-disk. The udjat-eye figures under its wings. The standing mummiform god is human-headed on the left, and snake-headed on the right. Loose hieroglyphs are found between the interstitial areas of the composition.
The sixth register displays a large winged goddess with her arms outstretched towards both sides of the lid.
In the seventh register the centrifugal block was excluded and the nuclear block is flanked by centripetal blocks featuring the avian manifestation of the deceased resting on a heb-bowl with a feather at his feet. The ba-bird has a curled beard and wears a sun-disk on his head encircled within the body of a centrifugal cobra. At the back of the bird figures the winged udjat-eye with a pending cobra wearing the hedjet-crown and the menat-counterpoise. The standing mummiform god is snake-headed on the left, and human-headed on the right. They both have divine beard and wear a feather above the head. Loose hieroglyphs are found between the interstitial areas of the composition, forming complete sentences: ‘Praising the great god who dwells in the Duat’ on the right side and ‘The great god who dwells in Thebes’ on the left.
The eighth register depicts a large winged goddess and in the ninth register the centrifugal blocks show a kneeling Osiris wearing the hedjet-crown adorned with long red streamers. The centripetal blocks depict the winged udjat-eye with a pending solar cobra wearing the ankh-sign on its neck. Additional blocks include standing mummiform gods (baboon-headed on the right side and snake-headed on the left side). Loose hieroglyphs are found between the interstitial areas of the composition.
Footboard
This area displays a tripartite organization (Fig. 45). The central partition is inscribed with four columns of text (Inscription 3) bounded by block-friezes. The lateral partitions are decorated with reversed vignettes depicting a mourning scene under a vaulted shrine. The mourning goddess is squatted on the nebu-sign before the enthroned Osiris. She is green-skinned and wears a tight dress decorated with a beaded-motif (red). She is crowned with the modium. The god wears the hedjet-crown and grasps the royal scepters. The throne rests on a heb-bowl. The following labels can be found: ‘Neith, the powerful’ (right side) and ‘Neith the great goddess’ (left side).
The edges are decorated with a geometrical frieze.
Inscriptions
The texts are written on a yellow background. Two longitudinal inscriptions run down the edges from the elbows to the footboard (Inscriptions 1–2). The inscriptions are centripetally oriented. The hieroglyphs are outlined in red and painted in blue, green and red. Calligraphy tends to be cursive, following the style of the whole decoration of the object.
Inscription 1
I̓nk Nwt, wrt, ms n nṯrw, sꜣt Rꜥ, ḥnwt tꜣw nbw, nbt nrw, ẖnty I̓mntt m ꜣbḏw, di̓.f [sic] ḫt-nb[t] nfr[t] wꜥbt, ḫt-nb[t] nfr[t] nḏmt, ḫt-nbt pt, ḫt-nbt tꜣ, ḫt-nbt dwꜣt, ḫt-nbt I̓mntt nfr[t]
I am Nut, the great one, who begot the gods, the daughter of Re, the mistress of all the lands, the lady of dread, the foremost of the West in Abydos, so that he [sic] may give everything good and pure, everything good and sweet, everything from the sky, everything from the earth, everything from the Duat, everything from the beautiful West.
Inscription 2
I̓nk Gb, r-pꜥt nṯrw, ꜣḫ n sꜣ.[f] pwy ḥr ms n ꜣst, i̓wꜥ mnḫ n wn-nfr ḥḳꜣ, di̓.sn ḫt-nb[t] nfr[t] wꜥb[t], ḫt-nbt pt, ḫt-nbt tꜣ dwꜣt, ḫt-nbt nfrt [nt] I̓mntt nfr[t], ḫt-nb[t] nfr[t] dwꜣt [s]štꜥ[t]
I am Geb, prince of the gods, akh of this [his] son Horus whom Isis had born/generated, beneficent heir of Unnefer the ruler, that they may give everything good and pure, everything from the sky, the earth and from the Duat, everything good from the beautiful West, everything good from the mysterious Duat.
The central partition of the footboard is inscribed with four columns of text (Inscription 3). The hieroglyphs are outlined in red and painted in blue, green and red. In the first column the space reserved for the name of the deceased was left blank.
Inscription 3
(col. 1) Wsi̓r, nbt-pr, šmꜥt n I̓mn-Rꜥ, nsw-nṯr [Space left blank for the name]. ḏd.s: ‘hꜣy, (col. 2) Nwt, psš.t ḏnḥwy.t ḥr.i̓, di̓[.t] wnn.[i̓] mi̓ (col. 3) i̓ḫmw-sk, i̓ḫmw-wrḏ, (col. 4) im[sic!] [nn] mwt.[i̓] m wḥm [m] pr ntr-ꜥꜣ nty [m] I̓mnt nfr[t]’
(col. 1) The Osiris, the mistress of the house, the chantress of Amun-Re king of the gods [Space left blank for the name]. She says: ‘[oh] (col. 2) Nut, spread out your wings over me and let (me) be as (col. 3) the Imperishable stars, and the Unweary stars, (col. 4) so that I may not die again in the house of the great god who is [in] the beautiful West’.
Figure 40
Inner lid (A.15). Headboard and upper section
Figure 41
Inner lid (A.15). Headboard and upper section (drawing)
Figure 42
Inner lid (A.15). Central panel (detail)
Figure 43
Inner lid (A.15). Central panel (detail)
Figure 44
Inner lid (A.15). Central panel (drawing)
