Kárpáti Zoltán - Liptay Éva - Varga Ágota szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 101. (Budapest, 2004)
HEDVIG GYŐRY: On the Collars of the Gamhud Coffins
The rosette pattern has always been a well-known motif on anthropoid coffins. It was introduced probably on the coffins of the priests of Amun, 50 and soon it became very popular applied either on its own, 51 or in combination with lotus flowers or papyrus flowers. 52 It was used all over Egypt during the Ptolemaic Period. 53 Square pattern 1. Many Gamhud coffins have been decorated with a peculiar square pattern on the collar and neck-band. Two types should be distinguished: the first type is divided into three horizontal stripes; the second one has two disks side-by-side in midline position. In the latter case, the background is red, and the disks are as white as the ground-colour of the coffin, whereas the middle stripe on the first type is red, and the side stripes are painted blue or green. The individual squares are separated by either one or two black lines, or by a thin column with perforation-like design. 54 The pattern is also known from Gamhud coffins and cartonnage collars in other museums. A coffin in Vienna displays a unique variant: a white, ondulating continuous line runs horizontally through the middle section of the red and blue squares. 55 The pattern shows up on coffins from other regions 56 and on Ptah-Sokar-Osiris statuettes. 57 Its predecessor could be the square with a small disk or rosette in the middle, which is known from 50 See Davies 2001 (n. 20), no. 2; S. Quirke and J. Spencer, The British Museum Book of Ancient Egypt, London 1999, 88, fig. 64: Beni Hassan. 51 E.g., the coffin of Psametik, probably from Memphis, see Kueny 1979 (n. 20), no. 22; 106-9, no. 125; 112, no. 128: Thébes? J. Yoyotte, La sépulture du pére divin Psametik, fils de la dame Sbaekhy, Bulletin de la Société française d'égyptologie 60 (1971), 9-21. Also on statuettes, e.g., statue of Karomama, see Andreu, Rutschowscaya, and Zigler 1997 (n. 27), 176, no. 86, inv. no. N 500. 52 E.g., C-B. Arnst et al., Das Aegyptisches Museum Berlin, Mainz 1991, 209. no. 128: inv. no. 211, Thebes; Kueny 1979 (n. 20), no. 48; M. Marcheix, Musée Municipal Limoges, Limoges 1974, 27, no. 14, pl. IV; M. Jorgensen, Catalogue. Egypt III. Coffins, Mummy Adornments and Mummies From the Third Intermediate, Late, Ptolemaic and the Roman Periods (1080 BC AD 400), Carlsberg Glyptotek, New York 2001, figs. 6-8: Deir el-Bahri, Thebes, 700-675 BC; Davies 2001 (n. 20), pi. 56,2: coffin of Nesmutaatneru, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, inv. no. 951407C. 53 D. O'Connor and D. Silverman, The Egyptian Mummy. Secrets and Science, The University Museum Pennsylvania 1980, 86, no. 102, inv. no. E 16220: Abydos, G. Cemetery, ca. third century BC; S. IkramandA. Dodson, The Mummy in Ancient Egypt, Equipping the Dead for Eternity, London 1998, pl. XXXI: Deir el-Bahari; The Exhibition 1988-89 (n. 33), no. 123. 54 One black line: Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts, inv. nos. 51.2017 and 51.2018/2; two black lines: inv. nos. 51.1990, 51.1996, 51.1997, 51.1997, 51.2000, 51.2001, 51.2003, 51.2007, 51.2013, 51.2015, and 51.2107; column: inv. nos. 51.1994 and 51.2000. 55 Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, inv. no. AS 6692. Cf. on a mummy mask in Basel, see H. Schlögl, Le don du Nil. Art Egyptien dans les collections suisses, Archäologische Sammlung der Universität Zürich, Historisches Museum Bern, Kunstmuseum Luzern, Musée d'art et d'histoire Genève. Une exposition du séminaire d'Egyptologie de l'Université de Bale, Basel 1979, 93, no. 340. 56 See Lacovara and Teasley Trope 2001 (n. 20), 56. 57 See Andreu, Rutschowscaya, and Ziegler 1990 (n. 21), 81.
