Coffin fact file
Age: 2,600 years old/6th century BC
Dynasty/Period: Late Period, 26th or 27th Dynasty
or later.
Dimensions: Length 178cm/Width 46.5 cm/Depth (lid)
24.5cm /Depth (trough) 17.5 cm
Material: Wood, plastered and painted.
Place of origin: Possibly Meir, Middle Egypt.
Click on the images below to get a closer look at Irthorru's
coffin.
Description
Head, torso and sides: The face is painted
yellow, with white eyes and a black and a green-striped beard.
The top of the head has a red-outlined winged scarab (beetle)
pushing a red sun-disc that lies directly above the brow. The
wings of the scarab reach down the wig on either side of the face
and the upper row of feathers is red and the lower row is
green.
A painted collar begins at the upper-arm level
and is painted in red and green on a cream ground. It
has a dominant triangular pattern ending in a row of alternate
yellow and red rosettes and then a row of drop-pendants in green
and cream. The hands emerge from the collar and painted yellow.
The sides of the coffin base and lid are decorated with a
large cobra with its hood painted in green, stretching down the
whole side of the coffin to the feet. It is enclosed by
white-bordered bands alternating green and red, with a white
central dot, and separated by narrow white and red bars.
Underside of base of coffin: The wig on
the base is a solid green and is decorated on the
underside with a standing winged goddess, with a red sun-disc on
her head and a feather in each hand.
The dominant decorative scheme is a red and green
criss-cross motif on a white ground decorated by a central column
of text, enclosed by red and green bands.