Beschreibung:

AN EGYPTIAN PAINTED SYCAMORE FIG WOOD SARCOPHAGUS AND MUMMY FOR NESKHONS THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, DYNASTY XXI, CIRCA 990-940 B.C. The coffin comprising a lid and trough, both brightly painted with an abundance of texts and iconographic representations, the lid anthropoid, showing the deceased in the form of a mummy, wearing a striped divine wig crowned with a fillet and a plaited divine beard with chin straps, the arms crossed and covered by an immense floral collar, exposing only the hands, clenching emblematic staves, with red bands crossing the chest, imitating the straps of dyed leather, the principal scenes (excluding the many small amuletic and mythological figures) as follows, between the hands, a vignette featuring symmetrical cobra-goddesses, below the collar a winged solar-disk above a scarab wearing a triple Atef-crown, flanked by symmetrical scenes, to the left the vulture-goddess Nekhbet standing behind a seated god labeled "Giver of life, stability Re," a similar goddess to the right behind a seated god labeled "Giver of life, stability and dominion like Re," symmetrical winged cobra-goddesses below both labeled "Wadjyt," the sky-goddess Nut below with wings spread above a central HH-god holding palm-fronds, signifying "millions of years," captioned to the left, "Stability and dominion like Re," and to the right "Life, stability and dominion like Re(?)," flanked on either side by a standing goddess behind a seated god, labeled, to the left, "Great God,... (?) of Heaven," "Nekhbet," and to the right "Great God, Lord of Heaven," "Nekhbet," a solar disk below with spread wings above symmetrical Htp-di-nsw formulae in vertical bands extending to the foot, reading, left, "A Royal Offering Formula to Re-Harakhty-Atum, Lord of the Two Lands, the Southern-Heliopolitan; Ptah-Tatjenen who is South of His Wall, Lord of Ankhtawy; Anubis, Lord of the Cemetery, Foremost in the God's Booth; that they may give offerings of provisions, everything good and pure, everything sweet and pleasant," and right, "A Royal Offering Formula to Re-Harakhty-Atum, Lord of the Two Lands, the Southern-Heliopolitan; Ptah-Sokar-Osiris the Lord of Mysteries; Anubis Lord of the Cemetery, Foremost in the God's Booth, First Lector Priest [in the Place of Truth]..., Great God...," with central panels in between, one with symmetrical seated gods, one with symmetrical falcon gods flanking a scarab with a solar disk, and one with wadjet -eyes, another offering formula down the center of the foot, reading, "A Royal Offering Formula to Osiris, Lord of Eternity, Foremost of the West, Great God, Lord of Heaven, who comes forth/ascends from the horizon," a vertical column of text along the right side of the lid reading like a Htp-di-nsw but without the initial formula, "Osiris, Lord of Eternity, Foremost of the West, Great God, Lord of Heaven, who comes forth/ascends from the two horizons (sic), who appears gloriously in the Atef-crowns; Isis the Great, Mother of the God, Eye of Re, Mistress of All the Gods, that they may give (or, May they give) offerings of provisions and all beautiful and pure things, all sweet and pleasant things that come forth in the presence of the Stolist of the Mystery of Things/Offerings (?) of Osiris, the God's-Servant of Amun, Neskhons , justified, child of (?)..., " a corresponding band down the left side, "Osiris, Lord of Eternity, Foremost of the West, Great God, Lord of Heaven, who comes forth/ascends from the horizon, who appears gloriously in Atef-crowns; Isis the Great, Mother of the God, Eye of Re, Mistress of All the Gods; that they may give offerings of provisions and all beautiful, pure things, all things of wine and oil, for the Osiris, the Lady of the House, justified(?), and the Osiris, the God's-Servant of Amun, Neskhons , son of s...;" both upper sides with a large winged goddess and a large falcon with spread wings, the right side with a standing mummiform god labeled "Great God," a Ba-bird labeled, ". . . (?), Lo