UNPUBLISHED INNER ANTHROPOID COFFIN LID OF TA-SHAB-N-KHONSU Nº.TR. 4.10.16.4

Abstract

This article aims to publish the inner anthropoid coffin lid of Ta-Shab-N-Khonsu, currently preserved in the basement of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo «previously on display in the former Giza Museum». The lid belongs to a non-royal woman known as Ta-Shab-N-Khonsu, who holds a high elite status as the house mistress, sistrum player of Amun-Ra and phyle-leader of dancing; she belongs to the family of Amun’s priests, as she is the daughter of the wab priest of Amun «Iuffai» and related to the family of Montu’s priests, as she is the wife of the Montu priest «Nessepef II» and the mother of the Montu priest «Irtharerau». The lid dates to the end of the 25th dynasty, according to its artistic features and decoration criteria. This unpublished lid and its registration number in the Egyptian Museum «TR. 4.10.16.4» are not mentioned in any references or studies that include coffins from the Third Intermediate Period or Late Period. Moreover, some studies have mentioned it as a missing coffin, underscoring the signicacance of this research. Now it can be said that the inner coffin of lady Ta-Shab-N-Khonsu was an anthropoid coffin, missing its trough and only the lid has survived.