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Egyptian

Coffin and mummy of Nesmin, 170-30 BCE

Now On View

Description

Maker

Culture

Egyptian

Title

Coffin and mummy of Nesmin

Year

170-30 BCE

Medium

Coffin: wood, gesso, gilding, paint, and colored glass

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Dimensions

Length: 179.1 cm (70 1/2 inches)

Place

Found at Thebes

Type

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund and Mary B. Jackson Fund

Object Number

38.206

Projects & Publications

Publications

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Ancient Egyptian Galleries

Nesmin lived in Egypt nearly 2,300 years ago, a priest of the fertility god Min and the moon and healing god Khonsu. He lived in Apu, now known as Akhmim, and was mummified and buried in a cemetery there after his death.

The underside of Nesmin’s coffin depicts a djed-pillar, a symbol of stability and longevity that frequently was made into the form of an amulet. The djed-pillar is accompanied by a double-feathered headdress set against a bright yellow ground, the original color of the whole exterior of the coffin before it faded. At the time of Nesmin’s death, the djed-pillar also symbolized the backbone of the deceased, especially of the god Osiris. This connection is made explicit in the Book of the Dead (chapter 155): “Words to be spoken over a djed-pillar . . . Raise yourself up, Osiris! You have your backbone once more . . . you have your vertebrae.”

Related

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Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Coffin and mummy of Nesmin with the accession number of 38.206. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.