Gesso-Painted Wooden Coffin Fragment

An Egyptian gesso-painted wooden coffin fragments belonging to Hedj-Shemsu
Middle Kingdom, circa 1991-1782 B.C
Upper portion: 49.5 x 12.7 cm; Lower portion: 49.5 x 14.6 cm

This is an ancient Egyptian gesso-painted wooden coffin fragment from the Middle Kingdom. This painting of the man and the hieroglyphics next to him are a wonderful example of dominant character and style of ancient Egyptian art: the homeometric regularity, intense observation, precise representation of actual nature, and strict conformity to a set of rules regarding representation of three dimensional forms.

On the upper portion of the fragment, the top figure Qebehsenuef is holding was-sceptre, with four painted columns of hieroglyphs to his right and with two outer yellow coloured inscribed borders, each bearing part of his name. The lower portion of the fragment, is that of the bottom part of Qebehsenuef holding the was-sceptre, with identical panels as above. The reverse of this panel is inscribed with columns of inscription from The Coffin Texts, each spell written in red, the rest in black, including a spell for repelling a female snake.

Provenance: Christies 2003. The other half of this piece is in the Princeton Museum