The coffins of Tayuheret

The coffins (CG 61032) containing the mummy of Tayuheret (CG 61091), thought to have been the wife of Masaharta, were originally made for a Chantress of Amun named Hatet. They were expediently modified for Tayuheret’s use by simply inscribing her name over that of the previous owner. See photo below.

Edward Loring observes that various spellings were employed, as if those responsible for the reinscription were uncertain about the correct spelling, and he describes their work as “crude.”

The coffins and the coffin board had suffered significant damage: their gilded face masks, hands, and gilded wig lappets were all roughly hacked off with an adze, while the foot end and headpiece of the coffin board had also been broken away. This is typically indicative of plundering.

However, the relatively intact condition of Tayuheret’s mummy argues against such an event. G. E. Smith noted that insects had damaged the skin on Tayuheret’s face, and it is conceivable that insects also attacked the wood of her coffin board, thus making it fragile and more susceptible to breakage.

The other damages to the coffins may be interpreted as the result of rough handling by necropolis officials. Both Reeves and Loring agree that Tayuheret was not originally buried in DB 320. Reeves suggests that she was first interred with Masaharta, her presumed husband. Loring, however, disagrees, arguing that the damage to Tayuheret’s funerary equipment is significantly more extensive than that on Masaharta’s, indicating she was probably buried separately in her own, as yet unidentified, tomb prior to her reburial in DB 320.

Despite the heavy damage, the coffins and coffin board of Tayuheret retain interesting stylistic features. Given the improvised manner in which Tayuheret’s name was added, it is likely that these stylistic elements are original to the coffins and coffin board and were not later additions.

The hair of the wigs is shown as finely braided, a style found only on the coffins of the highest status individuals. A winged goddess, probably Nut, appears on the central panels of both coffin lids and on the coffin board, while the foot board of the outer coffin is decorated with an Anubis jackal motif. Rogerio Sousa draws attention to the lower part of the coffin board, noting that its decorative central partition is highly unusual for this period. The vignettes on the panels of the central partition depict scarabs, Ba birds, and wedjat eyes, following the same general scheme used for the central partition decoration on the lids of the outer and inner coffins.

Source Bibliography: CCR, 171ff., Pls. LIV, LVII; DRN, 214, no. 39; 256; GCSS, 50, n. 280; 133, n. 676; 158, n. 313; RM, 105; TRC, 67f.

Abbreviations

Source 2025-07: Edited from a now-defunct page of The Theban Royal Mummy Project via Wayback Machine
Source url: http://anubis4_2000.tripod.com/mummypages1/DB320Coffins/TayuheretCoffin.html

Exterior and interior coffin Maatkara. Cairo Museum JE 26200 / CG 61028 / SR 19377
Photo: VB 2015

In the column on the right (white background) the name of Hatet is erased and replaced by the name of Tayuheret. Cairo Museum CG 61032, JE 26196
Photo: VB 2015