A Ptolemaic sarcophagus lid
Softwood covered with plaster and linen, painted. Designed as a model of the embalmed person wrapped in a cloth and with a voluminous wig, their hands held crossed in front of the body. The entire front painted with motifs including an Udjat eye (for luck) and a scarab beetle (symbol of rebirth) with sun discs held in its front and back legs. Beneath the beaded necklace we see the winged goddess Maat above a series of depictions of the underworld in four registers. The name of the deceased is inscribed between the feet (indistinct due to loss of pigment). Several noticeable retouches, including diagonally across the forehead, some localised losses of pigment (for example the top of the head, shoulders, and feet). H ca. 190, mounted on a flat iron panel H 194.
304 B.C. - 30 B.C.
For fully painted sarcophagi such as this, maker's generally used wood from poorer quality native Egyptian trees such as sycamore or tamarix. The wood was then grounded with a layer of plaster and the decor was applied directly to it, and in some cases a layer of linen was applied beneath the plaster. In this case, the paintings of the front are thought to have been applied directly to plaster, whereas a layer of linen was added along the sides to help the plaster to stick.
The four registers with depictions of the underworld show:
1. The sun god in his barque in his various forms as a falcon, Osiris, and a ram.
2. The mummy of the deceased on a bier being attended by the god Anubis flanked by Isis and Nephthys.
3. A Ba bird with a human head and a sun disc, as well as the four sons of Horus.
4. The sun god's rebirth as the sun child.
We would like to thank Dr. Manfred Weber of the University of Cologne for his kind support in cataloguing this piece.
Provenance
Christie´s London, sale April 21,1999, lot 70.
Private collection, Italy.
Pandolfini Casa d´Aste, sale June 21, 2006, lot 91.