Lid of anthropoid sarcophagus (114313)

Lid of anthropoid sarcophagus (114313)

This is a lid of an anthropoid sarcophagus. A black wig with long feathers frames a golden face, probably female, characterised by large eyes and red-painted lips; on her chest is a usekh-necklace, consisting of twelve rows of falcon heads whose colour alternates between red, green and beige. Between the necklace and the chin is a winged solar disc while an Isis, with a feather in each hand and udjat eyes on the sides, is placed at the base of the chest. The rest of the surface along the legs is divided into five horizontal registers; the last four from the bottom are covered longitudinally by a hieroglyphic inscription of which only the initial part is legible. In a central position, in the first sector, it is possible to recognise Nephtys, the mummy laid out on the bed for mummification, with Anubis and Isis next to her. To the sides, and in all the other bands, there are a series of standing and seated deities; here too, the colours employed are red, green and beige. The quadrangular base has a red solar disc. The dating of the lid, which preserves the dentils along the edge for insertion into the channel, is based on stylistic and epigraphic considerations.