Coffin Lid of Ankhtashepsit

Artist Unidentified

Period Third Intermediate Period (Ancient Egyptian, 1070–664 BCE)

Dynasty Dynasty 22 (Libyan) (Ancient Egyptian, 945–712 BCE)

Place of OriginEgypt, recently attributed to Beni Hasan (previously to Akhmim)

Date22nd Dynasty (945-712 BCE)

Dimensions70 × 16 in. (177.8 × 40.6 cm)

MediumCedar wood with polychrome tempera over gesso.

ClassificationMummies and Mummy Cases

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1906.2A

Not on View

DescriptionThis ensemble consists of two primary components: a two-part outer anthropoid coffin (1906.2A–B) and an inner cartonnage case (1906.4), both attributed to an individual named Ankhtashepsit. The lid (1906.2A) is made of joined cedar planks coated in gesso and features a simplified exterior: a single column of hieroglyphs invoking funerary offerings and a small painted portrait. The light-painted face has large eyes and no ears; the striated wig ends in a decorative band. A broad collar with eight rows spans the chest, above a pectoral, with modeled hands below. At the shoulders are two falcon heads; beneath the wig lappets are pairs of Horus sons flanking a recumbent jackal. The inscription is framed in blue and filled in red or black, but includes several errors. The interior shows the goddess Nut with outstretched wings, painted in red and yellow.

Label TextThis anthropoid wooden lid is left largely undecorated except for painted details on the front surface. A vertical register runs from chest to foot, beginning with a recumbent jackal and flanked by four mummiform sons of Horus, each holding a feather and cloth. The wig, painted in staggered blocks, is framed by floral and block-pattern borders. Shoulder-level falcon heads likely serve as amuletic terminals. At the neckline, a collar of alternating bead rings and a winged scarab (above the forehead) add protective symbolism. Though simple in execution, the painted motifs conform to the so-called “Northern Style” of Third Intermediate Period coffins, with visual and iconographic features typical of Fayum and Memphite production. No footbox is present. The uniform style and paleography match the associated cartonnage, suggesting that both were created by a single artisan. Despite its minimalism, the lid preserves important iconographic and workshop data for regional coffin studies.Published ReferencesCatalogue of a Collection of Egyptian Antiquities Brought Together and Presented to The Toledo Museum of Art by Mr. Edward Drummond Libbey, President of the Museum, Toledo, 1906, p. 12-13, no. 2.

Knudsen, Sandra E., "A Mummy 'Comes to Life' in Toledo," KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt, vol. 12, no. 1, April 2001, p. 44, note 1.

"Unique UV & EB Applications: Mummies Come Alive VIa Stereolithography," Radtech Report, vol. 21, no. 6, Nov./Dec. 2007, p. 48, repr. (col.) cover, p. 48.

Brech, Ruth, Spätägyptische Särge aus Achmim. Eine typologische und chronologische Studie, Gladbeck, PeWe‑Verlag, 2008, p. 33-36, 50.

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. 72-73, repr. (col.) p. 73. Johnston, Kea Marie, Unseen Hands: Coffin Production at Akhmim, Dynasties 21–30, Berkeley, University of California, Berkeley, 2022, PhD diss, pp. 173-181, 556-560.

Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Unseen Art of TMA: What's in the Vaults and Why? Sept. 21, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, October 29, 2010- January 8, 2012.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Mummies: From Egypt to Toledo, February 3- May 6, 2018.