The outer sarcophagus of Panesi, priest of the Temple of Amun at Karnak.
Although black today is associated with mourning and sadness, the color of this coffin was about hope. For Egyptians, black people mean a new life.
Every year the country's farmland emerges from the receding floodwaters of the Nile River, carrying a new layer of rich, fertile dark silt. The annual immersion was so important to their survival that the god of the underworld, Osiris, was called “the Black One” and could be depicted with black skin to emphasize his association with fertility and rebirth.
Bonnici lived during the Twenty-Second Dynasty in Egypt. 745-715 S.C.), as the Karnak priests became more powerful - eventually declaring themselves kings, at least in the area around Luxor.
Photo of Rijksmuseum van Ouden (Leiden, Netherlands)
The outer sarcophagus of Panesi, the priest of the Temple of Amun at Karnak
Although black today is associated with mourning and sadness, the color of this coffin was about hope. For Egyptians, black means new life.
Every year the country's farmlands emerged from the receding waters of the Nile bearing a fresh layer of rich, fertile clay. The annual flood was so important to their survival that the god of the underworld, Osiris, was named "Black" and could be depicted with black skin to emphasize his connection to fertility and rebirth.
Bonnici lived during the Twenty-Second Dynasty of Egypt. 745-715 c), a period in which the priests of Karnak became increasingly powerful, eventually declaring themselves kings, at least in the area around Luxor.
National Picture Museum of Archaeology (Leiden, Ariel de Jos)
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