"Rishi Coffins" - a Review

Rishi coffins were coffins decorated with feathered patterns and used by the ancient Egyptians during the Second Intermediate Period. Almost all the known examples of these coffins come from Upper Egypt, on the West Bank of the Nile opposite the modern city of Luxor.

Rishi Coffins and the Funerary Culture of Second Intermediate Period Egypt by Gianluca Minaci is a great example of how scholarly research should be done. The author has painstakingly found every known example of a rishi coffin, researched the circumstances of its discovery and documented it in a well written book. There is a photograph and / or a line drawing of each coffin in the catalog. Where possible, the author has included a hand copy of the text on the coffin as well. This work is also a fine example of how a book should be printed. It is a large and heavy paperback printed on high quality, glossy paper.

This book is probably not for everyone interested in ancient Egypt due to the obscurity of the topic. But for any scholar interested in the Second Intermediate Period, this book is absolutely required reading.