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Our Dark Materials: Rediscovering an Egyptian Collection Main Menu Materials People Themes Lessons How to Use This Website All images are by the Stanford University Archaeology Collections of the Stanford Archaeology Center unless otherwise noted and are intended for educational purposes.

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Can the representation of a thing be as—or even more—effective than the thing itself? In ancient Egypt, the answer was yes.

Figurines of gods and goddesses evoked divine beings, bringing them into the human realm to ensure protection both in life and death. Food and drink could sustain the deceased for an eternal afterlife only if it was made of an incorruptible material like ceramic, rather than of perishable flesh or ephemeral liquid. For a person of modest income, such nourishment might be deposited in their burial in (affordable) miniature form, alongside equally miniature furnishings like cups, pitchers, and tables. The power of models extended even to the deceased themselves. Their likenesses—molded in clay, carved in wood, formed in plaster, inscribed in ink—provided a lasting home their soul might revisit and a focus for memorial practices of those that remained.

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Soul House, Fragments (21364.3) While the rich and powerful were buried in tombs of stone, ancient Egyptians with smaller budgets buried their loved ones underneath a soul house like this one. These models represented shelter and offerings to sustain the deceased. A complete example is shown in a nearby picture. The fragments displayed here represent the deceased individual with a table and bowls of food, alongside cuts of meat. The rough fabric and cursory shaping of the clay highlight the common status of the recipient. This item was destroyed in the earthquake of 1906, but its surviving fragments are whole enough for interpretation. While the craftsman paid little attention to detail, this soul house was sturdy enough to fulfill its purposes: to survive the tests of time and provide continual offerings to the buried in the afterlife.
Cartonnage Fragments (22231) This coffin covering was intended to protect the remains of a woman—likely named Senchalanthos—for eternity. What remains after the 1906 earthquake flattened Stanford’s museum is a puzzle of missing pieces, never to be completed. Among hundreds of fragments, we find: bright flower-shaped patterns, depictions of four funerary gods, and writing scrawled onto the cartonnage. The Demotic inscription reads: “May her name be rejuvenated every day.” In recognizing her name in this exhibit, we hope to rejuvenate her spirit.
Miniature Earthenware Vessel (20751) This small vessel is a model of a larger one and was intended for a funerary setting, probably of a modest person who could not afford full-sized accompaniments. With a rim opening only large enough to barely fit one finger inside, it is evidently too small to contain any liquids or food. Its hand-built construction is evident by the unbalanced base and thickly textured walls. That this object was neither thrown nor coiled suggests its early creation by a potter in Pre-dynastic Egypt.
Egyptian Funerary Mask (22224) These fragments preserve the image of an unknown individual in their ultimate, mummified state. Per artistic convention, the thick linear pattern, seen on both the mask and larger surrounding fragments, symbolizes the bandage wrappings encompassing the deceased. It likely framed other designs, including of the sister goddesses Iris and Nephthys. Although now divorced from the body, this cartonnage revitalizes the deceased through the pictorial and symbolic representations of them in life, death, and afterlife.
Egyptian Funerary Mask (22224) These fragments preserve the image of an unknown individual in their ultimate, mummified state. Per artistic convention, the thick linear pattern, seen on both the mask and larger surrounding fragments, symbolizes the bandage wrappings encompassing the deceased. It likely framed other designs, including of the sister goddesses Iris and Nephthys. Although now divorced from the body, this cartonnage revitalizes the deceased through the pictorial and symbolic representations of them in life, death, and afterlife.
Amulet of Osiris (17215) The versatility of metal allowed craftsmen creatively to form the ubiquitous Osiris in varying poses. Osiris, one of the most popular gods of the Egyptian pantheon, was perceived during his lifetime as the incarnation of the principal god Horus and became Osiris after death. Osiris was eventually equated with all deceased individuals and became a symbol of resurrection, making him one of the most common deities to be formed as a funerary object. Bronze figurines of Osiris take two basic forms: seated or standing. There are also three common arm positions: crossed; fists touching; and right arm over left. This placement may be associated with different geographical regions in Egypt. Smaller bronze Osiris figurines cast with a loop were worn as amulets, kept close to the body in life and death to bestow protection, healing, and luck. The most technical of the three forms, the amulet required precision and advanced casting techniques in order to create the rear suspension ring.
Figurine of Osiris (66.256) The versatility of metal allowed craftsmen creatively to form the ubiquitous Osiris in varying poses. Osiris, one of the most popular gods of the Egyptian pantheon, was perceived during his lifetime as the incarnation of the principal god Horus and became Osiris after death. Osiris was eventually equated with all deceased individuals and became a symbol of resurrection, making him one of the most common deities to be formed as a funerary object. Bronze figurines of Osiris take two basic forms: seated or standing. There are also three common arm positions: crossed; fists touching; and right arm over left. This placement may be associated with different geographical regions in Egypt. Smaller bronze Osiris figurines cast with a loop were worn as amulets, kept close to the body in life and death to bestow protection, healing, and luck. The most technical of the three forms, the amulet required precision and advanced casting techniques in order to create the rear suspension ring.
Figurine of Osiris (20513) The versatility of metal allowed craftsmen creatively to form the ubiquitous Osiris in varying poses. Osiris, one of the most popular gods of the Egyptian pantheon, was perceived during his lifetime as the incarnation of the principal god Horus and became Osiris after death. Osiris was eventually equated with all deceased individuals and became a symbol of resurrection, making him one of the most common deities to be formed as a funerary object. Bronze figurines of Osiris take two basic forms: seated or standing. There are also three common arm positions: crossed; fists touching; and right arm over left. This placement may be associated with different geographical regions in Egypt. Smaller bronze Osiris figurines cast with a loop were worn as amulets, kept close to the body in life and death to bestow protection, healing, and luck. The most technical of the three forms, the amulet required precision and advanced casting techniques in order to create the rear suspension ring.
Soul House, Fragments (21364.2) While the rich and powerful were buried in tombs of stone, ancient Egyptians with smaller budgets buried their loved ones underneath a soul house like this one. These models represented shelter and offerings to sustain the deceased. A complete example is shown in a nearby picture. The fragments displayed here represent the deceased individual with a table and bowls of food, alongside cuts of meat. The rough fabric and cursory shaping of the clay highlight the common status of the recipient. This item was destroyed in the earthquake of 1906, but its surviving fragments are whole enough for interpretation. While the craftsman paid little attention to detail, this soul house was sturdy enough to fulfill its purposes: to survive the tests of time and provide continual offerings to the buried in the afterlife.
Soul House, Fragments (21364.2) While the rich and powerful were buried in tombs of stone, ancient Egyptians with smaller budgets buried their loved ones underneath a soul house like this one. These models represented shelter and offerings to sustain the deceased. A complete example is shown in a nearby picture. The fragments displayed here represent the deceased individual with a table and bowls of food, alongside cuts of meat. The rough fabric and cursory shaping of the clay highlight the common status of the recipient. This item was destroyed in the earthquake of 1906, but its surviving fragments are whole enough for interpretation. While the craftsman paid little attention to detail, this soul house was sturdy enough to fulfill its purposes: to survive the tests of time and provide continual offerings to the buried in the afterlife.

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