ARCE Annual Meeting (Cont.)

     Dr. Aiden Dodson did a lively presentation entitled "The Coffin Collection of the Manchester Museum" during the third session of the first day. The talk was illustrated with photos of the museum's collection of coffins ranging from Dynasty Three through the Roman Period.

     The Third Dynasty example is a simple wood coffin, with a rectangular shape and a vaulted lid. One set of coffins that stood out in my mind were the coffins of two brothers (Khnumnakht and Nakhtankh) who lived during the Middle Kingdom. The outer, rectangular, coffins are beautifully painted and quite lovely, but it is the inner coffins that caught my eye. They are both anthropoid and have very odd (and different) Nemes headdresses on them. The coffins have two different styles of beards and the faces are painted differently, with the coffin of Nakhtankh having a dark (green?) face.

     The museum also has some coffins from Dynasty 22 - 25 that had some interesting decorative motifs. Several had a pair of wings on the forehead, with very small faces that were out of proportion with the rest of the coffin.

     Dr. Dodson pointed out that the Manchester mummy collection is well known but the coffin collection (which is extensive and very interesting) is not. The speaker hopes to see this change as a publication of the collection is in the works. I for one am looking forward to it.