The coffin of Madja

Look for the coffin of Madja, and start at the face. Follow the wig down on either side, then notice the broad collar spreading across the chest. The shape gives a person a recognisable outline, even though the body is enclosed. Madja was a woman buried at Deir el-Medina, near the ancient city of Thebes. Her painted wooden coffin dates to the fifteenth century BCE. We know her name, but we should leave room for everything about her life that this object cannot tell us. Take a little time with the paint and the small scenes across the surface. These images and offering formulas were intended to accompany and protect the dead. The coffin is almost the length of a person. Let your eyes travel from the face to the lower part, then back again. The collar and painted scenes belong to a coffin made for a woman whose name survives. We will keep that connection between a name and a person in view at our next stop.