Coffin of Ta-mit (Bottom)

DescriptionThis trough (or base) is the lower half of the anthropoid coffin of Ta-mit (see also 1906.1A, the lid). Constructed from doweled wooden planks, coated with linen and painted gesso, its interior features a full-length depiction of Nut, the sky goddess, with arms lowered and palms outward—a pose symbolizing embrace and rebirth. Her blue armpit triangles represent the lapis-lazuli hair of deities. The exterior of the trough bears a single large image of the djed pillar, depicted with eyes and akimbo arms to personify Osiris. This rare treatment of the djed emphasizes the coffin’s role as a container for resurrection and stability. This imagery pairs visually and conceptually with that of the lid, creating a complete protective system encasing the deceased.

Label TextThis vividly painted coffin, made for a woman named Ta-mit, was crafted in Egypt during the Late Period to house and protect her body in the afterlife. Her name, written in hieroglyphs with the sign of a seated cat, means “she-cat,” and is inscribed throughout the surface along with the names of her parents—Nesu-Hor-Behdety and Neset-Menkhet. The coffin consists of two parts: a lid (1906.1A) and a trough (1906.1B). Both are adorned with scenes from the Book of the Dead and a host of protective symbols. On the lid, the sky goddess Nut stretches her wings across the chest, flanked by symbols of life and healing. Below her, the weighing of the heart scene unfolds—Thoth leads Ta-mit before Osiris, while her ba, the soul-bird, hovers over her mummified form on a lion-headed bier. The trough's base and lid interior each depict Nut again, enclosing the body in divine embrace. Hieroglyphs in black ink list offerings—bread, beer, oxen, incense, and milk—meant to sustain her eternally. Acquired by Edward Drummond Libbey in 1906, this coffin was among the museum’s first Egyptian acquisitions.Published ReferencesCatalogue of a Collection of Egyptian Antiquities, 1906, pp. 11-12, no. 1.

McMaster, Julie A., The Enduring Legacy: A Pictorial History of the Toledo Museum of Art, Superior Printing, Warren, OH, 2001, repr. (col.) p. 14.

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art Map & Guide, London, Scala, 2005, p. 6, repr. (col.)

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2009, p. 6, repr. (col.)

Peck, William H., Sandra E. Knudsen and Paula Reich, Egypt in Toledo: The Ancient Egyptian Collection at the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, 2011, p. 82-83, repr. (col.) p. 11, 82, (det.) p 83.

Fortenberry, Diane ed., Souvenirs and New Ideas: Travel and Collecting in Egypt and the Near East, Oxford, UK, Oxbow Books, 2013, p. 28, repr. fig. 3.6, p. 30.