COUVERCLE DE SARCOPHAGE, BOIS ET PIGMENTS POLYCHROME, ÉGYPTE, EPOQUE PTOLÉMAÏQUE, CIRCA 332-30 AV. J.-C. AN EGYPTIAN PAINTED WOOD COFFIN, PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 332-30 B.C., of anthropomorphic form, the tripartite wig and false beard painted black, wearing an elaborate broad beaded collar with Horus falcon head terminals, with central vessel pendant, details in red, white, green and black paint, 184cm high, 52cm wide, 38cm deep Footnotes: Provenance: M. E. B. collection, Southern France, formed 1950s-1990. Archéologie - Importante Collection Française Méridionale, de M. E.B. constutuée de 1950 à 1990; l'Hôtel des Ventes Holz Artles, Arles, 17 May 2014, lot 88. Anthropoid coffins like this example first appeared by the Middle Kingdom - skillfully carved so as to outline the mummy's body and decorated with the visage and wig of the deceased individual. Such coffins not only replicated the mummy's form kept within, but also served as actual substitutes for the bodies in the event that the mummy's body was lost or destroyed. During Ptolemaic times, painted decoration shifted from including inscriptions naming the deceased, to more individualized images of the dead. New pigments such as red lead and lead white were introduced and colour pallets became more vivid. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com