This volume proposes a theoretical and methodological framework for the study of “yellow” coffins, which is one of the most extensive corpus of funerary objects from Ancient Egypt, and the most complex in terms of decoration. It presents a synthetic view on Egyptian coffin decoration during the II millennium B.C. together with in-depth examination of a sample of nine previously unpublished burial assemblages. Dating from the 21st-22nd Dynasties, these objects were chosen to showcase the stages of development in coffin decoration detected in the “yellow” corpus, as well as variations in style and layout. A new formal typology of this corpus is proposed, allowing a better understanding of the dynamics of coffin decoration in Theban workshops.

AUTHOR
Rogério Sousa is Professor of Egyptology and Ancient History at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Lisbon. He has been studying coffin decoration during the 21st Dynasty from an art historical perspective, focusing into the principles of composition, symbolism and social significance of coffins in Thebes. Currently he coordinates the Gate of the Priests Project which studies the objects found in the Tomb of the Priests of Amun (Bab el-Gasus) in Thebes. 

Contributors: Vladimir Bolshakov, Corinne Eloi Deibel, Michael Deibel, Mahmoud M. Ibrahim, Luca Miatello, Hala Mostafa, Bonnie M. Sampsell, Karen Shank-Chapman, Rogério Sousa

REVIEW
‘A brilliant combination of academic rigor and creative thinking characterizes Rogério Sousa’s analyses of the “yellow coffins” of the Third Intermediate Period and illuminates the decipherment of the complementary texts and iconography of these complex funerary documents.’ Professor Lorelei H. Corcoran, University of Memphis

‘This volume is a real contribution to the broader topic of coffin studies, and an important one for those who focus on the corpus in question.’ Professor Aidan Dodson, University of Bristol