Coffin of Amenemope

The coffin of Amenemope belongs to the earliest phase of development of the so-called "black coffins", which have a black ground colour. The programme of decoration on the coffin also conforms to type. A broad multiple collar with falcon's heads at either end lies on the chest. Below this the goddess Nekhbet is depicted in the form of a vulture with outstretched wings and shen-rings in her claws, symbolizing cyclical eternity. From the goddess to the feet of the coffin runs a band of inscription which is crossed at four places by transverse bands which suggest the bands tied around a mummy. On the lid there is no further decoration, but on the box of the coffin the spaces in between the bands are filled with texts and images of deities. Thoth and Anubis are depicted, together with the two pairs of guardian deities of the internal organs, the "sons of Horus" Amset, Hapi, Duamutef, and Qebehsenuef. The goddesses Isis and Nephthys are conventionally placed at the feet and head of the deceased respectively. The small face with its inlaid eyes is framed by a voluminous tripartite wig. A short band of inscriptions runs across the head. Although the head and the shoulders are clearly indicated, the arms and legs are not. The feet are suggested by a bulge at the corresponding part of the coffin lid. The owner of the coffin, Amenemope, held the post of "Chief Carrier of Arms of Thutmose I", and he may therefore have belonged to the private sphere of the pharaoh.