Mummified body and coffin of a woman named Asru

Title: Mummified body and coffin of a woman named Asru
Rights: Media and images are the property of Manchester museum
Type: Physical object
Creator: Anonymous
Date: 750-650 BCE
Description: This is Asru. She lived around 750-650 BCE, likely in the ancient city of Thebes. Her coffin is painted with hieroglyphs that tell us her name, as well as the names of her parents. Her father's name was Pa-Kush, which translates to 'The man from Kush'. Kush refers to an area that is now northern Sudan. At this time period Egypt was ruled by Kush, and her father's name, as well as the style of her coffin suggest that Asru was wealthy, important and beloved. Asru was a temple singer, which was an important position in society at the time, justifying her elaborately painted set of two coffins. The painting on the sides of her coffin depict her journey into the afterlife, including her judgement by the god Thoth, who has the head of an ibis.
Asru's body was preserved through a ritual of mummification that was intended to prepare her body for reaching the afterlife. Her body was embalmed and covered in linen wrappings. These wrappings were removed by the Manchester Natural History Society in 1825 in an effort to learn more about Asru and the process of mummification.
Format: Image
Place: Asru can currently be seen in the Manchester Museum
Publisher: Manchester Museum