Outer coffin of Bakenmut

From Bab el-Gasus, Thebes, Egypt
21st Dynasty, 1070-945 BC

The God's Father of Amun

The outer coffin of Bakenmut shows him wearing a striped head-dress surmounted by a lotus blossom, and with a garland collar around his shoulders and upper body. This arrangement is often depicted on coffins of the New Kingdom (about 1550-1070 BC) and early first millennium BC.

Bakenmut's crossed hands hold the djed pillar and tit amulet. Below kneels a figure of the goddess Nut with her wings outstretched in order to protect the mummy. Nut is often depicted in this pose on the exterior of coffins of this period, and the preceding New Kingdom.

The exterior of Bakenmut's coffin is crammed with small scenes. The paint is so thickly applied that they appear in slightly raised relief. The scenes show deities such as Osiris, Isis and Nephthys and those linked with the solar cycle, such as the scarab Khepri, as well as Re in various mummified forms.

The main feature of the interior of the coffin is a large djed pillar, topped by a triple version of the crown of Osiris, further ornamented with rams horns. At the top of the coffin is a large ba bird, whose wings flanked the head of the mummy.

A. Niwinski, 21st-Dynasty coffins from Theb (Mainz am Rhein, P. von Zabern, 1988)