Ellen Pederson
ARCH 0030
30 September 2008

Looking at the Coffin of Nesmin: 
a head-to-toe examination of the sarcophagus of an Egyptian priest

	Upon a first look, the coffin of the ancient Egyptian priest Nesmin (circa 250 BC) seems an impenetrable curtain of painted symbols. The areas not covered in cryptic images and intricate patterns are filled with hieroglyphs. The combination of bright and dull colors plays tricks on the eye. One wonders how a person could manage to create such a piece of work. When looked at slowly from one end to the other, the sarcophagus may not make much more sense, but it becomes at least somewhat more comprehensible.
	Beginning with a cursory glance at the head, one sees what would be "expected" of a sarcophagus: black headdress, thickly outlined eyes, protrusive ceremonial beard. Though integral aspects, these do not wholly constitute the piece.  The gold paint on the face is easily overlooked, yet creates an effect completely different from that of what would otherwise be plain wood. The paint differs in color very little from the wood beneath it, yet reflects far more light, causing the face to subtly glow. This luster seems almost inhuman or godlike. Looking closely at the eyes, one sees that they are ringed not with paint as would be expected, but with carefully inlaid glass. The glass stands out from the wood, emphasizing the eyes and eyebrows more than paint alone could. The stark contrast of white-painted eyes to the gold of the face and the dark blue around the eyes also serves to draw attention toward the ocular region. It is interesting to note that, while the eyes are highly emphasized through use of color and material, the lips remain the same gold color as the rest of the face. This uniformity of color does not 
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come from a lack of red: while the number of hues decorating the rest of the coffin is limited, red plays an important role. One wonders what caused the artist to ignore what seems a rather important aspect of the coloration of the human face. Looking up from the face, one sees Nesmin's headdress and what looks like hair. (I say "what looks like hair" as one can hardly tell where the headdress stops and the hair begins -- both are painted black, and no difference in texture separates the two.) The color of the hair (assuming it is indeed hair) is interesting: no grey hairs are shown, something surprising for a man old enough to die. Then again, Nesmin may have died as a young man or simply managed to maintain his hair color. Recognizing the fact that the lips bear the same color as the rest of the face when they were clearly a different color, perhaps the artist also chose to ignore certain characteristics of the hair. Above the scarab on the headdress rests a red orb, presumably a sun. This same symbol appears various other places on the coffin: on the shoulder above the head of a falcon, above the head of the kneeling woman painted on the chest, on the heads of the rams also on the chest... One would conjecture that it bears some significance. The pattern on the edge of the headdress is at the same time simple and ornate. Only four colors (black, light green, red, and tan) are employed therein; simple patterns (repeated thick lines, stripes in alternating colors) are used; however, these patterns are so carefully repeated and drawn out that they somehow take on an intricacy which cannot be described in words. 
	Moving down from the head, one next sees what seems like a necklace or collar of sorts. It begins at the top of the neck with repeating stripes of red, green, and dark blue on a tan background--this ends at the bottom of the headdress, separated from the rest of the pattern by 
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a single stripe comprised of vertical bands of the same colors. Here begins the more intricate pattern. The painter employed the same limited pallette, yet the design is extremely complex while at the same time repetitive. A few key designs--tan elongated triangles containing smaller green triangles, alternating tan and green papyrus flowers, and alternating tan and green eight-
leaved rosettes, all repeated--are split into curving registers by thin tan lines. From a distance, this all seems a jumble of colors and lines; upon closer examination, however, one finds therein  a repetition almost mathematical. In addition to the repeating pattern of designs, the background colors follow their own formula: two red stripes followed by a dark blue stripe, all separated by thin tan lines.
	 Just below this pattern lie two eyes. While alike in size and design, their colors are completely different (green with dark blue outline on the left and white with dark blue outline on the right.) For the most part, the decoration of the sarcophagus (with the exception of specific hieroglyphs) is symmetrical, but some parts differ slightly by side. Just above the eye on the right side lies what looks like a tree or leaf on a platform; the left side bears no such image. Another example of asymmetry appears in the flail-bearing figures on either side of the hieroglyphics on the stomach of the sarcophagus. All six have similar appearances and identical stances, but the colors of their skin (green or brown) and garments (light green, brown, and dark green) differ from one side to the other. One may also note that none but the highest figure on the left wears a head covering other than a headdress while he wears the white crown of upper Egypt. 
	Yet another example of asymmetry in the painting of the coffin appears in one of the 
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central scenes, this appearing to depict a part of Nesmin's burial rites. While each side consists of one kneeling figure with object on head and two standing human figures with animal heads, the colors and animal heads do not exactly match. Of course, assuming this scene depicts Nesmin's actual post-mortem ceremonies, it only makes sense that the figures would not be identical. The painter appears not to have depicted the scene too realistically, however: the kneeling figures differ in scale from the standing figures so much that those kneeling are almost as tall as those standing. The heads of the standing figures also appear to be out of proportion with the rest of their bodies. Moving inward from these figures, one sees what appears to be the deceased Nesmin. One may note that he is smaller than the figures flanking him; perhaps these are more important entities, such as gods. A bird hovers above his chest--could this be his ka leaving to seek its next destination? Also interesting is the table on which Nesmin lies: though flat on top like any other table, it possesses a tail, paws, and a head. Kneeling above this entire scene is a woman, clad in white, her outstretched arms revealing wings. Could this be Khonsu or Min, the goddesses of whom Nesmin was a priest? As the sarcophagus bears little white paint, the woman's white garment sets her apart and draws attention to her, as do her protrusive wings. The size of the red circle balancing upon her head seems to indicate its importance in some way or another. While one may find several others on the coffin, this is by far the most noticeable. 
	Continuing downward to the lower legs and feet, one sees four sitting quadrupeds. The two in the center seem to be jackals, beings associated with death in ancient Egypt. Despite the fact that jackals are similar in size to average-sized dogs, those depicted on the sarcophagus are 
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comparable in size to the human-like figures also depicted. The other animals (difficult to identify) almost seem to blend into the column of hieroglyphs directly under their paws: the animals are fairly small, and their color matches that of the column. 
	The feet of the sarcophagus and its base are, though connected, individually defined and somewhat separate: If the coffin were turned upright, as a statue, the base would seem a part of the floor and the feet a part of the statue. The end of the base (the side which, if the coffin were stood up like a statue, would be on the ground) contains an image of a man--presumably Nesmin--on the back of a bull. The colors and size match those of the image of Nesmin on the table from the chest of the sarcophagus. The bull also has table-like characteristics: while it appears capable of motion, its back is perfectly flat and parallel to the ground. 
	Having inspected Nesmin's coffin from head to foot, one realizes certain aspects of its style beyond the specific images. The repetition of color--reds, greens, white, dark blue, and black--becomes obvious. Some specific images--red circle suns, Nesmin lying on a table, human bodies with animal qualities--show up repeatedly. Certain parts of the coffin--the eyes, the kneeling woman--stand out from the rest. The hieroglyphs almost entirely covering the sarcophagus must not be overlooked; though not readable to most people of the modern world, they undoubtedly tell significant tales. All this in mind, one must remember that more about the coffin can surely be gleaned from each viewing.