Sarcophagus fragment. Egypt, Lower Epoch, 715-323 B.C.

Sarcophagus fragment. Egypt, Late Antiquity, 715-323 B.C.
Stuccoed and polychrome wood.
Attached certificate of authenticity issued by J. Bagot.
Measurements: 28 cm.

Fragment of sarcophagus with the representation of a goddess conductor of the souls to the Beyond. It could be Isis, although in this case it lacks the archetypal attributes (wings, solar disk, feather of Maat). The head in profile and the frontal shoulders follow genuinely Egyptian formal patterns, although it is probable that the piece is of somewhat late age, of transition between the Late Epoch and the Ptolemaic, by the way in which the curves have been softened and lost the older hieratism.

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 themselves, 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.