Published Wood Coffin of a Shrew

Culture: Egyptian

Period: Ptolemaic period, 332-30 B.C.

Material: Wood

Dimensions: 13.5 cm long

Price: 9 000 Euro

Ref: 1548

Provenance: Charles Ede, London. Thence in the famous private collection of Leo Mildenberg (1913-2001). Auctioned with Christie's London "A Peaceable Kingdom. The Leo Mildenberg Collection of Animals in Ancient Art" on 26 and 27 October 2004, lot 401. Published in: Jane Biers "A Peaceable Kingdom: Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection. Part VI", Mainz 2004, number 25. Last in the German collection Erika Krautkrämer (1932-2022). Thence in a family estate.

Condition: The front and back ends are missing. The side walls unrestored with beautifully preserved colours. Glued in a modern way.

Description: Rare and very charming, polychrome painted wood sarcophagus of a shrew. The box-shaped coffin tapers from the front to the back. On the left side of the large opening two original pins are still preserved. The side walls depict two painted shrews with round backs walking while sniffing, facing to the large opening. The two mice, which symbolize the embodiment of the sun god Re, are framed by red and blue lines. The donor of this amazing coffin might have hoped to receive guidance through the netherworld and resurrection in heaven. Rare and with the stylized depiction of the animals almost unique. Published in: Jane Biers “A Peaceable Kingdom: Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection. Part VI”, Mainz 2004, number 25.