DEATH ON THE NILE: Uncovering the Afterlife of Ancient Egypt

HELEN STRUDWICK & JULIE DAWSON    Book Number: 93911    Product format: Hardback

A brightly coloured scene from the tomb of Ipuy at Thebes dating to about 1280 to 1215 BC shows the preparation of items of burial equipment such as furniture, ritual objects and a funerary mask and it's a glimpse into the world of the people who worked in the industry. Here are coffins and the cartonnage mummy case of Nakhtermuf, and even fingerprints left behind by people moving a coffin lid before the varnish had dried. Close up we see the fascinating world of ancient Egyptian burial customs and practises with four essays by leading academics. Choices of materials and methods used to create coffins add to the human story and the colour catalogue examines and displays over 50 objects and there's an illustrated glossary and index. Old Kingdom to early Middle Kingdom, the dead become serious business with decorated anthropoid coffins, objects buried with the bodies and later nested coffins right up to the Roman period. Building on the growing trend in Egyptology to use scientific analysis and imaging to examine artefacts, this glamorous heavy volume focusses on 100 objects from the Fitzwilliam Museum's renowned Egyptian collection. In addition to shedding new light on the workshops of ancient Egypt, it traces the religious beliefs, economic concerns and political allegiance of the people for whom the coffins were created. Behind these remarkable objects is a human story of daily concerns, aspirations and practical realities. 256 pages, 23 x 29cm, hundreds of colour photos and illus.

Published price: £45

Bibliophile price: £28