Egyptian Coffins & Sarcophagus

The term “Coffin” is usually applied to the rectangular or anthropoid container in which the Egyptians placed the mummified body, whereas the word “Sarcophagus” (Greek: “Flesh-Eating”) is used to refer only to the stone outer container, invariably encasing one or more coffins.  The distinction made between these two items of Egyptian funerary equipment is therefore essentially an artificial one, since both shared the same role of protecting the body of the deceased.  In terms of decoration and shape, coffins and sarcophagi drew on roughly the same iconographic stylistic repertoire.

The earliest burials in Egypt contain no coffins and were naturally desiccated by the hot sand.  The separation of the body of deceased from the surrounding sand by the use of a coffin or sarcophagus ironically led to the deterioration of the body, perhaps stimulating developments in mummification.  The religious purpose of the coffin was to ensure the well-being of the deceased in the afterlife, literally providing a “house” for the “Ka”.

The earliest coffins were baskets or simple plank constructions in which the body was placed in a flexed position.  From these developed and valuated house-shaped coffins that remained in use into the fourth Dynasty (2613 – 2494 BC).  At around this time, the Egyptians began to bury the deceased body in an extended position, perhaps because the increasingly common practice of evisceration made such an arrangement more suitable.  By the end of the Old Kingdom (2181 BC), food offerings were being painted on the inside of coffins as an extra means of providing sustenance for the deceased in the event of the tomb chapel being destroyed or neglected.  In the Old & Middle Kingdom, a pair of eyes was often painted on the side of the coffin that faced east when it was placed in the tomb.  It was evidently believed that the deceased could therefore look out of the coffin to see his or her offerings and the world from which he or she had passed, as well as to view the rising Sun. 

Decorated coffins became still more important in the First Intermediate Period (2181 – 2055 BC), when many tombs contained little mural decoration.  It was thus essential that coffins themselves should incorporate the basic elements of the tomb and by the Middle Kingdom (2055 – 1650 BC), they often incorporated revised extracts of the Pyramid Texts, known as the coffin texts.  This change reflects the increased identification of the afterlife with Osiris, rather than the Sun-God “Ra”.

Anthropoid coffins first appeared in the 12th Dynasty (1985 – 1795 BC), apparently serving as substitute bodies lest the original be destroyed.  With the New Kingdom (1550 – 1069 BC), this form of coffins became more popular and the shape became identified with Osiris himself; his beard and crossed arms sometimes being added.  The feathered, rishi coffins of the 17th and early 18th Dynasty were once thought to depict the wings of the goddess Isis, embracing her husband Osiris, but are now considered by some scholars to refer to the BA bird.  Rectangular coffins were effectively replaced by anthropoid types in the 18th Dynasty; but some of their decorative elements were retained.

In the Third Intermediate Period (1069 – 747 BC), coffins, papyri and stelae became the main vehicles for funerary scenes that had previously been carved and painted on the walls of tomb chapels.  The principal feature of most of the new scenes depicted on coffins was the Osirian and solar mythology surrounding the concept of rebirth, including the judgment of the deceased before Osiris and the journey into the underworld, the voyage of the Solar Bark and parts of the Litany of Ra.  Among the new scenes introduced in the decoration of coffins and on funerary papyri was the depiction of the separation of the earth-god Geb from the sky-goddess Nut.

The excavation of the 21st & 22nd Dynasty royal tombs at Tanis has provided a number of examples of the royal coffins of the period (although the sarcophagi were sometimes reused from the New Kingdom).  The cache of mummies of high priests of Amun at Deir el-Bahri has also yielded a large number of private coffins of the 21st Dynasty (1069 – 945 BC).  It was also from the end of the New Kingdom onwards that the interiors of the coffins began to be decorated again; beneath the lid-especially in the 22nd Dynasty (945 – 715 BC), there was often a representation of Nut, while the “goddess of the West”, Hathor, or the Djed Pillar began to be portrayed on the coffin floor.  During the Late Period, extracts from the Book of the Dead were sometimes also inscribed inside the coffin. 

In the 25th Dynasty a new repertoire of coffin types, usually consisting of sets of two or three (including an inner case with pedestal, an intermediate anthropoid outer coffin), was introduced, becoming established practice by the 26th Dynasty.  Late Period coffins were characterized by archaism, involving the reintroduction of the earlier styles of coffin decoration, such as the provision of the eye panel.

There are comparatively few excavated burials dating from c.525 to 350 BC, but more coffins have survived from the succeeding phase (30th Dynasty and early Ptolemaic Period), when they typically have disproportionately large heads and wigs.  During the early Ptolemaic Period, many mummies were provided with cartonnage masks and plaques, fixed on to the body by strips of line.

Ancient Glass History

Little is known about the production of glass in the ancient world.  One early source, Pliny the Elder (AD 23 – 89), reported the tale of natron (soda) merchants who, when they stopped to prepare a meal, supported their cooking vessels on the beach with blocks from their cargo.  The heat of the fire fused natron and sand, and a new substance was formed.  This, Pliny says, was the origin of glass.

Glass-like materials were used in Egypt long before the production of glass itself.  Egyptian faience, a popular material used in the production of amulets and small vessels, was a mixture of quartz sand with an alkali binder.   It was molded, and then fired, causing a bright glaze to migrate to the surface.  Real glass is more difficult to produce, because its ingredients must be heated to a high enough temperature to melt and then fuse completely.  Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets contain some references to glass making, indicating that it was a very difficult and secret undertaking.  There is no ancient recipe for the making of glass, but it may be that in an attempt to duplicate the glazes formed in pottery making, the mixture of sand, soda and lime bonded compatibly, thus forming the 4,000 year old lump of blue rod found near Eshuna, which dates from 2,000 BC, is the earliest glass that has been found.

In about 1,500 BC, the technique of “core forming” developed in both Egypt and Mesopotamia.  This new method was an important breakthrough in glass making.  It was a technique that remained in use for over a thousand years, allowed for the production of glass vessels in a thousand years, and allowed for the production of glass vessels in variety of shapes.  A core of mud of about the same size as the completed vessel was placed on the end of an iron rod.  A second rod was dipped into containers of colored molten glass, and the glass was wound around the core material.  This process was repeated many times until the core was covered.  The next step was to wind bands of colored glass around the core glass and to comb them into a design.  The final additions – the rim, the base and may be the handles – were added last.  The piece was slowly cooled and then polished.  It was a lengthy and expensive process, and core-formed glass was available only to rulers and nobility. 

The Millefiori technique (Italian for “a thousand flowers”) was also known in Mesopotamia as early as 1500 BC.  This method required a group of various colored glass rods to be placed in a cylindrical mold.  They were heated and fused together, and were then pulled from a small tube, like taffy.  This created a pattern that was then sliced and placed side by side into a decorative mold, in order to create the final shape.  This method too was expensive and time consuming to produce and its colorful patterns were again available only to the wealthy.

Glass blowing was probably the greatest single advance in glass technology.  This revolutionary process was discovered around the middle of the first century BC and seems to have been practiced from the first century AD on.  It involved capturing a molten glass bubble on a hollow metal blowpipe and inflating it to the desired shape and size.  It could be either blown free form or blown into a mold, or a combination of two.  The speed and relative ease with which this technique could be handled opened new vistas for the production and use of glass in the ancient world. 

Glass blowing developed at a time when the Roman Empire, under Augustus Caesar and his successors, wanted peace (Pax Romana), stability and a better way of life, and this included consumer goods.  The combination of a new technology and a demand on the part of the Roman citizen allowed the new method to forge ahead, and blown glass began to rival pottery and metalwork, both in speed of production and in variety of shapes and sizes.  Its smooth surface was easy to clean for reuse, eliminating the storage problem of porous pots.

Syria became the “glass factory” of the Roman Empire, and goods were shipped and stored in glass bottles and wine flowed from glass jugs.  Blown glass was finally inexpensive and available to all.

Today, many examples of ancient Roman Glass are available to collectors.  Unguentaria or “tear bottles”, as they are often called, are the most common items of Roman blown glass.  They vary in size, but usually have a somewhat bulbous base with a long slender neck and a flat rim.  The color varies from colorless to pale blue/ greenish hues, and they sometimes are covered with an iridescent patina.  Unguentaria were used for perfumes, cosmetics, and oils, and are fine examples of ancient glass that can be collected today.

Luristan Became a Center of Skilled Metalworkers

Luristan bronzes have been prized for their unique designs and fine craftsmanship since antiquity.  Geographically, Luristan is the central province in Iran’s western frontier, the area where production of richly decorated bronzes flourished from about 1200 to 800 B.C. 

The formidable terrain of the region, sweeping plains, and high valleys intersected by the Zagros Mountains, encouraged the development of small, separated communities in ancient times.  The economy of these communities was dependent upon horse breeding, some agriculture, and control of the north-south trade routes. By about 2500 B.C. these tribes lived in semi-permanent settlements, which became the early bronze working centers.  

The Luristan smiths became masters of casting by the ‘cireperdue’ or ‘lost wax’ method.  This technique required the modeling of an object in wax, often over a clay core for stability, and then coating the wax with clay.  The subsequent firing of the piece hardened the clay, and melted the wax which ran out through prepared vents.  The resulting mold was then filled with molten metal and left to cool.  When the mold was broken away, the bronze piece was smoothes and finished as necessary.  The versatility of this method encouraged innovative design, and allowed for the production of a variety of bronze tools, implements, decorations and figures.  

The tribes of western Persian were outstanding horsemen and warriors, and decorative horse bits, harness fittings, and rein rings were among their most interesting equipment. 

Ingenious zoomorphic shapes appear on much of the Luristan bronze work. Fantastic animals with elongated bodies form handles and spouts of a variety of vessels.  The same animal forms appear as cult symbols on ceremonial pins and finials.  The “Master of Animals” design, often used on pins and finials is one of the most popular but baffling motifs.  A humanoid figure is flanked by a pair of mythical and rearing beasts, which in some instances he appears to be subduing.  The human figure has been equated with Gilgamesh and with the Mesopotamian “heroes”.  The origin of the whole motif is, however, maybe archaic, and evolved from an early stage in the religion.  

The primary function of any metal industry in antiquity was the production of weapons and tools.   This, too, was an area in which the Luristan smiths excelled.  Their mastery of weapons included a wide variety of swords, daggers and spear points, as well as arrowheads, mace heads, and ax heads.  

Bronze blades were relatively soft and required frequent re-sharpening, thus the whetstone became an important piece of equipment.  

The first bronze blades were cast with a short tang, which was riveted to a simple wooden handle.  Very fine dagger blades were occasionally fitted with a separately cast bronze of copper hilt, that was then riveted to the tang.  Some of these blades have been found with cuneiform inscriptions from the Royal Houses of Babylon and Elam. 

Even after the blade and hilt were cast as one piece (about 1200 B.C.) this style was copied and the rivets were cast as a design motif.  Eventually, blades were cast with a flanged hilt.  This allowed for a decorative inlay in the handle of bone, ivory or wood.  

The Luristan bronze industry died out after 800 B.C. when the tribal aristocracy lost its power to the invading Medes, and the smiths lost their wealthy patrons. 

Many fine examples of Luristan bronze work are available to collectors from Sadigh Gallery,  from miniature ceremonial animals to horse gear and swords and daggers.   Visit our Luristan collection page at: http://www.sadighgallery.com/luristan.html

Egyptian Predynastic Pottery

Beginning just before the Predynastic period, Egyptian culture was already beginning to resemble greatly the Pharaonic ages that would soon come after, and rapidly at that.  In a transition period of a thousand years (about which little is still known), nearly all the archetypal characteristics appeared, and beginning in 5500 BC we find evidence of organized, permanent settlements focused around agriculture. Hunting was no longer a major support for existence now that the Egyptian diet was made up of domesticated cattle, sheep, pigs and goats, as well as cereal grains such as wheat and barley.  Artifacts of stone were supplemented by those of metal, and the crafts of basketry, pottery, weaving, and the tanning of animal hides became part of the daily life. The transition from primitive nomadic tribes to traditional civilization was nearly complete. 

The Chalcolithic period, also called the "Primitive" Predynastic, marks the beginning of the true Predynastic cultures both in the north and in the south. The southern cultures, particularly that of the Badarian, were almost completely agrarian (farmers), but their northern counterparts, such as the Faiyum who were oasis dwellers, still relied on hunting and fishing for the majority of their diet. Predictably, the various craftworks developed along further lines at a rapid pace. Stone working, particularly that involved in the making of blades and points reached a level almost that of the Old Kingdom industries that would follow. Furniture too, was a major object of creation; again, many artifacts already resembling what would come. Objects began to be made not only with a function, but also with an aesthetic value. Pottery was painted and decorated, particularly the blacktopped clay pots and vases that this era is noted for; bone and ivory combs, figurines, and tableware, are found in great numbers, as is jewelry of all types and materials.

It would seem that while the rest of the world at large was still in the darkness of primitivism, the Predynastic Egyptians were already creating a world of beauty. 

Somewhere around 4500 BC is the start of the "Old" Predynastic, also known as the Amratian period, or simply as Naqada I, as most of the sites from this period date to around the same time as the occupation of the Naqada site. The change that is easiest to see in this period is in the pottery. Whereas before ceramics were decorated with simple bands of paint, these have clever geometric designs inspired by the world around the artist, as well as pictures of animals, either painted on or carved into the surface of the vessel.  Shapes too, became more varied, for both practical reasons depending on what the vessel was used for, and aesthetic reasons. Decorative clay objects were also popular, particularly the "dancer" figurines, small painted figures of women with upraised arms. Yet perhaps the most important detail of all about this period is the development of true architecture. Like most of Egyptian culture, we have gleaned much of our knowledge from what the deceased were buried with, and in this case, we have several clay models of houses discovered in the graves that resemble the rectangular clay brick homes of the Old Kingdom. This shows that the idea of individual dwellings, towns, and "urban planning" started around 4500 BC!