Sarcophage de serpent
In Paris, the Sarcophage de serpent brings ancient Egyptian funerary art into view through pink granite and dense carvings. Its cartouche-shaped body once held the coffins of Pharaoh Ramesses III, the second ruler of Egypt’s Twentieth Dynasty.
Winged Isis guards the deceased’s feet, while Nephthys stands near the head beside scenes from the Amduat. The right side shows the seventh hour, where the sun god confronts Apophis with knives, while the left presents the eighth hour. A palace-façade pattern circles the base, recalling sarcophagi from Egypt’s Old Kingdom. Inside, deities from the first hour of the Book of Gates accompany the sun’s underground journey through twelve hours of night.
Only two Amduat scenes appear here, and a careless inscription marks the seventh hour’s introduction. The lid now rests in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, leaving the pink granite body to preserve its nocturnal voyage.
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