Life, Death and Afterlife in Ancient Egypt: The Djehutymose Coffin in the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology [Paperback]

The elaborately decorated coffin of Djehutymose, a priest of the ancient Egyptian god Horus from around 625-580 BC, is one of the central artifacts of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology's Egyptian collection. Using the images and texts from the coffin along with related artifacts in the Kelsey Museum, Egyptologist T. G. Wilfong explores what the coffin tells us about ancient Egyptian ideas of life, death, and the afterlife. We follow Djehutymose through his life as a priest, through his death, embalming, and afterlife, examining his gods and symbols as he undertakes a voyage into the afterlife. Finally we see how his coffin journeyed from ancient Egypt to modern Ann Arbor. This richly illustrated book serves as a general introduction to ancient Egyptian religion as well as a specialized study of a single Egyptian artifact in its wider contexts.The elaborately decorated coffin of Djehutymose is one of the central artifacts of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology's Egyptian collection. Using the images and texts from the coffin along with related artifacts, Egyptologist T. G. Wilfong explores what the coffin tells us about ancient Egyptian ideas of life, death, and the afterlife.Introduction 5 The Djehutmose Coffin 6 Who was Djehutymose? 8 Djehutymose in a Family Burial 20 Djehutymose's Gods 38 Djehutymose's Symbols 54 Djehutymose's Afterlife Ambitions 60 From Edfu to Ann Arbor: A Dispersal and a Reunion 89 Djehutymose in the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology 95 The Djehutymose Coffin in the 21st Century 99 Conclusion 101 Notes 102 Suggested Reading 106 Bibliography 107 Acknowledgments 110 Photo credits 112T.G. Wilfong received his PhD in Egyptology from the University of Chicago. He is currently Professor of Egyptology at the University of Michigan, where he is also Curator for Graeco-Roman Egypt at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. He has published and lectured extensively on topics relating to gender, sexuality and religion in Pharaonic, Graeco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt. H