Sarcophagus fragment; Egypt, Lower Egypt 664-323 B.C.

Sarcophagus fragment; Egypt, Lower Egypt 664-323 B.C.
Polychrome wood.
It has a wooden frame and double glass made to measure.
It shows superficial wear. Slightly professionally restored at the joints.
Measurements: 70 x 32 x 2,5 cm; 90 x 50 cm (frame).
Fragment of Egyptian mummy sarcophagus made of painted wood (probably cedar). The painting was applied on a thin layer of plaster with natural pigments in vibrant shades of red, green, blue and facial details in black. The fragment is painted with the goddess Isis, standing, looking to her left, with the solar disk on her head, wings slightly spread and holding with her left hand a feather of Maat. This painting must have been part of a scene populated by other gods conducting souls to the afterlife, such as Anubis. The head in profile and the frontal shoulders follow genuinely Egyptian formal patterns, although it is probable that the piece is of a somewhat late age, of transition between the Late Roman and Roman periods, due to the way in which the curves have been softened and the older hieratism has been lost.
In Ancient Egypt, the sarcophagus was related to embalming and mummification rituals, designed for the deceased to achieve eternal life. During the Middle Empire, the custom arose of placing masks made of linen and a paste similar to cardboard over the face and shoulders of the deceased. From this fact gives rise to the appearance of the first anthropomorphic sarcophagi, coffins properly speaking, with human form, almost always made of wood. They will be pieces ornamented with painted scenes and texts, of funerary symbology. However, in general terms, the sarcophagus of the New Empire, mainly the royal sarcophagus, will be characterized by having a rectangular shape, in imitation of the oldest examples of the New Empire. However, the anthropomorphic type of coffin will be extended throughout the centuries until the end of the Pharaonic world.