Sarcophagus of Wennefer

Sarcophagus of Wennefer

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is a magnificent example of an unusual type of large trapezoidal sarcophagi characteristic of the Nectanebid Period (Dynasty 30). The decoration, carved expertly into the hard stone, features an image of Wennefer’s ba, an aspect of his intangible being in the form of a human-headed bird, on the lid. The texts here are spells from the Book of the Dead, meant to guarantee the successful transformation of Wennefer into an effective spirit. On the underside of the lid, the sky goddess Nut stretches out her limbs to shelter the mummy that once lay beneath. The box is decorated with texts and images illustrating the hazardous nightly journey of the sun god through the Netherworld.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.