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The mummy and coffins of an Egyptian woman

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Egypt had close political and trading links with other ancient Mediterranean civilizations. Many of these countries were fascinated by Egyptian funeral practices and copied some of them. For centuries Egypt traded with Cyprus and Lebanon and the two coffins below show clear Egyptian influence. In turn, the Egyptians adopted imagery and practices from abroad.

Phoenician marble coffin from Sidon, in present-day Lebanon

41-bigpic-07 See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?searchText=phoenician sarcophagus&images=true&ILINK|34484,|assetId=36536&objectId=282704&partId=1

A stone coffin from Cyprus

41-bigpic-08 See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?searchText=sarcophagus&images=true&ILINK%7C34484,%7CassetId=1118072&objectId=464239&partId=1

Sarcophagus

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From 525 – 332 BC, Egypt was ruled by Persian kings from modern-day Iran. This Egyptian sarcophagus shows the deceased in Persian dress.

See more See more: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=111614&partId=1&searchText=persian+sarcophagus&images=on&page=1

Artemidorus

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This Roman-period mummy of a young man named Artemidorus is an excellent example of the mixture of cultures in ancient Egypt. After the Persians, Egypt was conquered by the Greek king Alexander the Great in 323 BC and then ruled by Rome from 30 BC. The mummy has a painted case made of cartonnage (layers of linen bound together like papier maché) and a naturalistic Roman-style funeral portrait instead of a mummy mask. Although the scenes on the mummy case are Egyptian in style, the man’s name is written in Greek.

See more See more: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/asset/mummy-case-and-portrait-of-artemidorus/PwEEPjtssh_4JA

Papyrus coffin

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Moulded and painted papyrus coffin of a woman dressed in fashionable clothing of the Roman period.

See more See more: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/asset/coffin-of-a-woman/iwE1fnlSRnTzOw
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The mummy and coffins of an Egyptian woman