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Eye inlay from a coffin or mummy case
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Harsiyotef to an unknown ruler,
404–353 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), Meroe (Begrawiya), South Cemetery, Pyramid XIX, chamber debris
Medium/Technique
Bronze, alabaster, obsidian
Dimensions
Height x width x depth: 1.8 x 2.6 x 8.5cm (11/16 x 1 x 3 3/8in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number24.870
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsTomb equipment – Coffins and sarcophagi
DescriptionThis is the right eye inlay from a coffin or mummy case. It is intact with a bronze rim into which is set the whites of the eye in travertine (Egyptian alabaster) and a circular obsidian piece for the iris & pupil. It comprises part of a set that originally would have included the left eye and two separate eyebrows. The rim is somewhat corroded and suffers from bronze disease. See object 24.866.
ProvenanceFrom Meroe (Begrawiya), South Cemetery, Pyramid 19, chamber debris. 1921: excavated by the Harvard University-Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of Sudan. (Accession Date: March 1, 1921)