Unknown Maker, Egyptian

Nesmin lived in Egypt nearly 2,300 years ago, a priest of the fertility god Min and the moon and healing god Khonsu. He lived in Apu, now known as Akhmim, and was mummified and buried in a cemetery there after his death.

The underside of Nesmin’s coffin depicts a djed-pillar, a symbol of stability and longevity that frequently was made into the form of an amulet. The djed-pillar is accompanied by a double-feathered headdress set against a bright yellow ground, the original color of the whole exterior of the coffin before it faded. At the time of Nesmin’s death, the djed-pillar also symbolized the backbone of the deceased, especially of the god Osiris. This connection is made explicit in the Book of the Dead (chapter 155): “Words to be spoken over a djed-pillar . . . Raise yourself up, Osiris! You have your backbone once more . . . you have your vertebrae.”