This is the outer coffin case of a woman, Tay, and it is known as a white coffin.

It is from Thebes. White’ coffins are rare. The lid of this one was destroyed in 1957 as it was ‘in very poor condition, riddled with woodworm, and had always been sub-standard specimen’. The decoration is simple, with prayers and large figures of gods along each side to protect the body. The mummy of Tay was unwrapped at a lecture given at the Bristol Institution in 1824. This is the outer coffin case of a woman, Tay, and it is known as a white coffin. It is made from wood. It is over 3,400 years old, dating to the 18th Dynasty (1520-1480 BCE) in the New Kingdom.