Research Paper on King Tutankhamun's Canopic Coffinette

Introduction

Egyptian art is majorly concerned with the aspects of the King's life, the influence of gods and goddesses and the connection of the art to culture. Canopic coffinette tend to explain the events and aspects that were most valued in Egypt during the era of King Tutankhamun. History of art suggests that art is a way of communicating what might end up being forgotten due to the present. Canopic Coffinette, a beautiful architectural miniature of King Tutankhamun is a depiction of four mummiform containers that portrayed the King's internal organs which include lungs, intestines, stomach, and liver. The image might be depicting one of King Tutankhamun's predecessor, Smenkhkare or a member of Akhenaten's son. However, 'the royal name was reworked and connected to King Tutankhamun's name.' This paper seeks to analyze Canopic coffinette art, the possible implication of the Canopic coffinette to King Tutankhamun. The engraved depiction of the art to sky goddess which appears to be on the interior lid of the coffinette as it is portrayed on the art in conjunction with the identification of possible aspects connected to Egyptian Kingship and supernatural appeal.

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Analysis of Canopic Coffinette and Canopic Stopper

The four coffinettes are said to depict Tutankhamun to be in the form of the god of Osiris in the underworld. The art was made in Egypt and is said to have been stored in the tombs that kings and queens were buried. The coffinette are made to fold their arms and they are made to point upwards. The arms tend to hold crook and frail. The coffinettes were made to be to remember the legacy of Kings and the possible ways by which the society was responsible for the wellbeing of the King. The folded arms point upwards, and they are holding frail and the crook. The mask of Osiris is worn by the Coffinettes to portray the power that the kingdom of Tutankhamun depicted towards its allies. The reason for the cover of Osiris to be accompanied by the crook and frail to show that the king had the power from both the goddess and gods of Egypt to the point of commanding power for Egypt and its allies. The folded arms also portray that the power of the goddess guided the kingdom. 'The coffinettes also has a false beard worn by Osiris to represent that there was a supernatural power evident in the kingdom amid the stands being upon the hieroglyph for gold together with winged arms raised.' The raised knuckles depict that the deity of the sky would offer protection to the king towards his journey to the afterlife.

The pictures depict a look similar to that of King Tutankhamun's facial features. In a close analysis of the structure, the nose seems slenderer than that of King Tutankhamun alongside the eyes which are smaller than those of King Tutankhamun. For that reason, the Canopic Coffinette were made to symbolize a member of Egyptian's royal family other than that of King Tutankhamun.

According to the manner the 'coffinette' is made with a variety of valuable ornaments, it is clear that the art was created to mean that there is gods and goddesses protected an essential factor that maintains their security and legacy as the legacy of the King. The 'coffinette' is made to shine glory to drive away the distressed feeling of fear. From a thorough analysis, the art was created to portray that protection of the King and his royal friends was a matter to according to Egyptian tradition and that the gods and goddesses were responsible for the health and well-being of the king and his enthusiastic friends.

The frail is depicted to have nits and three strands of beads which likely takes the shape of flywhisk alongside with a paired crook which is a type of cane which has a hooked handle. The funerary mask is also made to have a false beard of Osiris with its faux hair depicting the dead king with some gods which were said to have golden skin. The dead King was a depiction of legacy and glory of his service to the Egypt Kingdom. The coffinettes and masks have holes for placing hearings, but they do not have the earrings themselves. It shows that the Egyptian men wore earrings, but the rings are not depicted in works of art. Beauty and the use of ornaments are used to portray the relevance of the aesthetic values throughout the Kingdom during and after the reign of King Tutankhamun.

The coffinettes also portray cuff bracelets and some forms of 'shebyu' necklace. Some seem to be an actual piercing of jewelry which belonged to Queen Ahotep as they are featured in the exhibition. 'The king wore Shebyu necklace and its three strands of gold in conjunction with the disk-shaped beads.' Additionally, they could be given by the king as a gift to any of his officials. The below arts portray King Tutankhamun's advisor Ay and the wife Tye possibly wearing 'shebyu' necklaces as a gift from Akhenaten.

Cuff bracelet belonged to Queen Ahotep, and their incorporation in the art suggests that the art portrays a royal gift and its features in conjunction with the details that the award had to the person gifted by the king. According to the multiple elements on the canopic coffinette, it is clear and concise to claim that the art aimed at pointing out all the inherent and applicable power that the King of Egypt had towards the Kingdom. It is clear that the protection by gods and goddesses show that no external nor internal aspects subjected to the Kingdom were allowed to destruct the kingdom and its purpose through its mighty King.

The memes headdress that is made of gold it is inlaid with blue glass which is made to look like lapis lazuli. The headdress was a sort of scarf which has lappets that were used for flanking the face of the king. Additionally, the coffinettes have a piece of fabric at the back which is gathered into a ponytail to enhance beauty. The golden headdress is accompanied with blue glass to portray the glory of Egyptian Queen and Kingship, especially by King Tutankhamun.

The coffinettes have a vulture and cobra decorations which are made to depict the deities Nekhbet and Wadjet. They also depict Egyptian goddesses represents lower and upper Egypt to symbolize the King of Egypt's dominion over cobras and vultures (allies) of Egypt. The winged forms of the two goddesses tend to envelop the king on the exterior of coffinette. The winged forms on the coffinette also clutch the hieroglyph of Egyptians to depict eternity. The winged forms also symbolize the protection of the King from any possible planned or unexpected problem for eternity.

The coffinettes also have inscriptions which were down their front. 'The engraving on the coffinettes depicts that the god Duanmutef and goddess Neith were responsible for the protection of the stomach of Egypt's King.' The coffinettes were given as a gift to assure the people or person given protection by the king's army alongside the protection from the gods and the goddesses who were responsible for the well-being of the king. The four sons of Horus including Duanmutef were responsible for the protection of the internal organs of the king from any forms of diseases which could be brought up by the Canopic jars which stored the stomach, intestines, and liver.

The manufacture and art on the coffinettes were connected to thick gold sheets which were hammered over a wooden form. It seems that the gold layers were soldered to make inlays to make elaborate patterns of jewelry and hieroglyphs. The feather and rishi patterns cover the body. The semi-precious stones or glass that made the coffinettes were used to portray the worth of the gift from the King. Since glass was considered to depict high-status material that was also valued for its formation and color, the coffinettes are the most precious objects in the Egypt Kingdom.

On the other hand, the 'coffinettes' is a perfect art portraying the nature and the beauty of the Egypt art. It is a table full of fruits of all types. The 'coffinettes' looks like a luxurious elaboration of the enticing details through colored features mostly in blue. As seen, the art is eye-catching with the golden appeal and suggestive features like the beard. The structures were made with durable materials like melted iron and gold to portray the value of the royal Kingship of Egypt during the era of King Tutankhamun.

Conclusion

In summation, the aspect that revolves around the 'coffinettes' is the glory that they portray. This paper has made an analysis of Canopic Coffinette art, its connection to King Tutankhamun and the engraved depiction of the art to sky goddess which appears to be on the interior lid of the coffinette. It has also been outlined that the four coffinettes are said to delineate Tutankhamun to be as the divine force of Osiris. The collapsed arms point upwards, and they are holding delicate arms of the gods and goddesses. The veil of Osiris is worn by the Coffinettes to depict the power that the kingdom of Tutankhamun delineated towards its partners. The purpose behind the cover of Osiris to be joined by the crook and frail to demonstrate that the King had the power from both the goddess and divine forces of Egypt to the point of charging power for Egypt and its partners. Additionally, the folded knuckles depict that the energy of goddess guided the kingdom. The coffinettes additionally has false whiskers worn by Osiris to portray that there was an extraordinary power apparent in the kingdom. In the midst of the stands being upon the symbolic representation for gold together with winged arms raised. The raised knuckles delineate that the god of the sky would offer insurance to the King towards his adventure to existence in the wake of death.

Bibliography

Carlos, Michael Museum. "Canopic Coffinette Classroom Tutorials." Retrieved from carlos.emory.edu/PDF/Classroom%20TUTorial_Coffinette.pdf

Campbell, R., 2012. Forgotten Sepulchers: The Uninscribed Tombs in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt.

Zarmati, Louise. "'Tutankhamun and the golden age of the Pharaohs' comes to Melbourne museum." Teaching History45, no. 1 (2011): 34.