Miniature coffin for funerary figurine of Queen Neferu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Several miniature coffins were found in the tomb of queen Neferu. They were inscribed with funerary formulas and the name of the deceased like actual coffins. Each of the miniature coffins contained a wax or mud figurine of a nude woman wrapped in linen and identified as Neferu herself by a short inscription. Such figures are known from other tombs of Dynasty 8 and 11. Funerary figurines of this type are probably the forerunners of the so called shabtis, which evolved in Dynasty 12 and became very popular from the New Kingdom on. Placed inside this miniature coffin was originally the figurine 25.3.244a. For other such figurines and coffins see 25.3.240a-c, .241a-c, .243a-c.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art