Object name: Anthropoid coffin of Userhet
Accession no.: E.88.1903
Other numbers and markings: tbd
Dimensions: H 182.4 cm
W 42.1 cm
D 33.2 cm
Brief description:
An anthropoid coffin found inside a decorated rectangular coffin.
The coffin decoration shows Userhet prepared for burial, as if the coffin itself is meant to perform the function of the white linen wrappings around his body and the mask over his face. Like earlier mummies, this coffin lay on its side, so that the eyes were close to the eyes painted on the outside of the rectangular coffin. Userhet’s face is painted black, a colour associated with Osiris, and the line of inscription down his front identifies him with that god, beginning ‘O Osiris, warrior Userhet’. The title ‘warrior’ is not common at this period and was not used for others buried in this cemetery; it may signify Userhet’s status locally rather than being a military title. The rest of the text, like that on the coffin of Nakht, calls on Nut to spread herself over him. The decoration on Userhet’s chest represents a broad collar of coloured beads, a feature that occurs on many later coffins.
Date: c. 1855–1790 BC
Middle Kingdom
Late Twelfth Dynasty
Find spot: Beni Hasan, tomb 132
Acquisition: Given by the Beni Hasan Excavation Committee.
Construction, decoration and materials:
Other information
Anthropoid coffin of Userhet
Detail of the face
