Coffin lid for a young woman, roman period (cartonnage)

Linen-and-plaster (cartonnage) coffin lid for a young woman or adolescent girl. The woman's face, neck, and bare breasts are gilded. Her hair is arranged in long, dark corkscrew curls, and she wears a wreath of red flowers on top of her head. Her feet are painted reddish-brown with gilded toenails; she wears black sandals with a strap across the toes and straps around the ankles. The sides of the coffin lid are divided into compartments, in each of which sits a god or goddess. The compartments are painted red or blue. On top of the lid, a broad collar protects the area underneath the dead woman's breasts; just below the broad collar is a winged scarab. Osiris and the Four Sons of Horus appear next, each in a brightly painted compartment. Below is the winged goddess Nut, shown kneeling. Below her are three djed-pillars (symbols of Osiris), alternating with two tyet-knots (symbol of Isis). Finally, two jackals rest on shrines or gateways just above the feet. The jackals represent Anubis. This coffin lid closely resembles other coffins now in museums in Berlin, Heidelberg, Cleveland, Amsterdam, and Paris. Some of these coffin lids refer to the Kharga Oasis, suggesting that they were produced there. Although the Manchester lid was apparently purchased at Koptos (Qift), in the Nile Valley, it is possible that it was originally from Kharga Oasis as well. Roman period | Manchester Museum | 150.5 cm