Embalmer's Bed

Unknown

664–332 B.C. · Wood (fig and tamarisk) · Egyptian Art

Discovered in a cache of material associated with the embalming process, this bed would have been used to support the body during mummification. The top is made from a re-used door leaf comprised of two planks of sycomore, and the lion-headed legs, of a fine harder wood, might have come from a piece of furniture. Such beds frequently appear in scenes of embalming depicted on the walls of tombs or on coffins. Also found in this deposit was a "shrine" coffin (Cairo JE 55194) belonging to the High Priest of Amun and son of the Kushite pharaoh Shabaqo, Horemakhet.

Artist

Unknown

Date

664–332 B.C.

Medium

Wood (fig and tamarisk)

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1930