This red granite sarcophagus lid depicts the carved figure of a Pharaoh. It is the sarcophagus of Ramses’ son, priest, and successor, Merenptah but was recycled and later used by Psusennes I in the 19th Dynasty.
In his crossed hands he holds a crook and flail which reach from shoulder to knee. He wears a long wig and a braided beard. Viewed from the side, he lies on a flat granite bed, two and half metres in length, with two short square endpieces standing upright at the head and foot, like bed-ends. The granite base is bordered with bands of carved hieroglyphs and images relating to his journey to the afterlife. A small, doll-sized figure of a goddess with a human face and helmet-like wig, crouches above his head. She stretches out her hands protectively to hold each side of the king’s head.
The sarcophagus lid has been mounted on a frame at eye height above a mirror. This is to show its underside, where there is a mesmerising carving of Nut the sky goddess. A life-sized photograph is also on the wall nearby.
Nut’s figure is as big as the king’s. She is elongated and slender, her arms stretch straight up, close to her head, palms up, fingers tight together. Her hair is carved across her forehead, behind her ears, and down to her shoulders. Her eyes are open, the brows and lids delineated realistically, and her face is calm, with gently closed lips. She is surrounded by delicately carved images of Re the sun god, with the disc above his head; and lightly etched figures of the boat that carries the Pharaoh to the next life.
Her body is strewn with carved stars, shaped like starfish as big as the palm of your hand, each with five points. Her face is directly above where the mummy’s face once lay, and she is leaning over him, sheltering him with her outstretched arms. Nut gives birth to the Sun every morning, then swallows him again at night. The king was figuratively laid to rest under the starry sky and watched over by the goddess as he slept in the grave.
Psusennes reused this royal coffin lid for his own burial, 200 years after Merenptah died. It might seem unusual that one king should reuse the coffin of another but the Egyptians were very pragmatic. Did he do this expecting that he, too would one day be reburied? Was he avoiding the expense of making his own coffin, or trying to associate himself for eternity with the family of Ramses the Great?
Nearby in this room are some luminous almost translucent white calcite vases. These were found by Howard Carter, famous for discovering Tutankhamen’s tomb.