Lid of the outer coffin of Butehamon

Butehamon’s set of coffins, probably found in the tomb of Nakhtmin (Theban Tomb 291), is already the typical one for the Third Intermediate Period: an outer coffin, an inner coffin, and a “false lid”. Nothing is known of the whereabouts of his mummy. The outer coffin shows stylistic features that are still typical for the Ramesside period (1292 – 1076 BC), but the growing space devoted to images is a feature of the new “yellow coffin” style. The image repertoire is expanded, combining typical New Kingdom elements with Third Intermediate Period Theological creations. Offering and mythological scenes are alternated in the decoration of the outer coffin. The lid shows a board collar with lotus flower, a pectoral dominated by the Khepri scarab (the morning sun), and the winged figure of Nut on the abdomen. The lower half of the top of the lid, instead, is subdivided into frames showing a number of offering scenes. An exceptional feature is the long hieratic text painted on the inside of both the lid and the false lid. It contains the “Ritual of the Opening of the Mouth”, a very old religious text whose purpose was to reanimate the mummy. Recent scientific tests have shown that Butehamon, in spite of his high rank, used pieces of earlier coffins to assemble his outer coffin.