Sarcophagus lid of Nachtnebef

This article deals with an unspecified night-neb-ef. For the king Nechetnebef of the 30th dynasty see Nectanebos I.

Sarcophagus lid of Nachtnebef
material	limestone
Dimensions	H. 187 cm; W. 63 cm; D. 50 cm;
origin	unknown
time	Late period , 30th Dynasty ,
place	Hildesheim , Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum , PM 1049

The sarcophagus lid of Nachtnebef of limestone is part of the Egyptian collection of the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim . It is dated to the late period , the 30th Dynasty (359–341 BC).

Mummy-shaped stone sarcophagi made of limestone or granite have been in the private sector since the time of Amenhotep III. occupied in the 18th dynasty and especially popular in the 19th dynasty . In the late New Kingdom and the III. In the meantime , only stone sarcophagi have been found and only from the 26th dynasty , the Saïten period , mummy-shaped sarcophagi were made again and were in use until the Ptolemaic period .

Location

Wilhelm Pelizaeus acquired the sarcophagus at the beginning of 1910 in the Egyptian art trade together with the sarcophagus lid (inventory number PM 1050). He left both sarcophagi in his hometown of Hildesheim in April 1910 . The inventory book contains the no longer verifiable information that both sarcophagus lids were found together. The location is unknown. This cover of the Nachtnebef has been completely preserved, there are only small repulsions on the stone surface. Only small remnants of the former painting remain on the face and breast ornament.

description

The text on the lid of the sarcophagus names an untitled man named Nachtnebef, son of Lady Neschon's, as the owner of the sarcophagus. It is made of smoothed sandstone and is 187 cm high, 63 cm wide and 50 cm deep. The shape of the lid imitates the stylized body of the deceased wrapped in mummy bandages. Only the head with the heavy, three-part strand wig is not covered and worked out in a round plastic shape. This feature and the plinths are typical of the mummy-shaped sarcophagi of this time. The wig leaves the ears free, the eyes are surrounded by black make-up lines. The eyebrows are also painted black. The proportions and the design of the broad, rounded face are characteristic style criteria for a dating approach to the 30th dynasty. A breast shield ( pectoral ) is carved on the breast of the mummy , the shape of which imitates a chapel in which three crouching figures of gods ( Osiris between Isis and Anubis ) are depicted. Below that, up to the wrapped feet, there are three columns with inscriptions that contain quotations from Proverbs 72 of the Book of the Dead . They are supposed to guarantee that all wishes of the deceased will be granted. A postscript is known to this saying, in which it is emphasized that the effectiveness increases when the saying is written on a coffin.

Proverb 72, lines 1-9:

"Greetings, Lords of the Kas, free from sin,

who (you) are for ever, everlasting!

I have reached you, I am transfigured in my form,

I am endowed with my magic powers

and I am tested in my magic power.

Save me from this "greedy" earth!

The mouth of the righteous is my mouth with which I speak

my offerings are given to me in your presence.

Because I know you guys. "

Postscript:

"Who knows this book on earth,

or when it is written on his coffin -

he goes out during the day in any shape he wishes,

and re-enters his (residence) seat, unhindered.

He is given bread and beer

and a large piece of meat from the sacrificial altar of OSIRIS.

He goes out to the rush field

and barley and spelled are given to him there.

He knows how to command, as on earth,

and he makes every wish come true

like those gods who are there.

A real cure, millions of times (tried). "

literature

• Katja Lembke , Bettina Schmitz , Heike Wilde: Beauty in Ancient Egypt - Longing for Perfection. Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum Hildesheim, November 25, 2006 to July 1, 2007; Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, July 28, 2007 to January 27, 2008. Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 2006, ISBN 3-8067-8559-7 , pp. 274–275.
• Wilfried Seipel : Egypt. Gods, graves and art. 4000 years of belief in the hereafter. Volume 1 (= catalogs of the Upper Austrian State Museum. New series. No. 22). Landesmuseum, Linz 1989, ISBN 3-900746-14-1 , p. 308 (there is a mix-up here, PM 1050 is shown and described, PM 1949 and its dimensions are stated).
• Albert Ippel, Günther Roeder : The monuments of the Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim. Curtius, Berlin 1921, p. 100.

Web links

• Entry in The Global Egyptian Museum

Individual evidence

1. ^ Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum Hildeshein; Inventory number PM 1049