Egypt Exploration Society

The Great Enchantress in the Little Golden Shrine of Tut'ankhamūn

Author(s): Kate Bosse-Griffiths
Source: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 59 (Aug., 1973), pp. 100-108
Published by: Egypt Exploration Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3856102 .
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 (Ioo)

THE GREAT ENCHANTRESS IN THE LITTLE

GOLDEN SHRINE OF TUT'ANKHAMUN
By KATE BOSSE-GRIFFITHS
THE littlegoldenshrineis one of fiveobjectsof the treasuresof Tut<ankhamun with
picturesoftheKing and Queen in Amarnastyle.The othersare thegoldenthrone,an
ornamentedchest,an alabasterlamp upon a trellispedestal,and a gold open-work
ornamentwhichprobablycomes froma harness.'All theseobjectsshow the young
kingand his queen in a varietyof actionswhichapparently have nothingto do with
funerary themes. They have not yet been treated In a
together. description oftheorna-
mentedchest in the BritishMuseum Exhibitionof 'Treasuresof Tutankhamun',
however,it is statedthatno morethanfourpieces fromthe tombof Tut'ankhamun
'showthe kingand queen togetherin a stylereminiscent of so muchin the artof the
precedingAmarnaPeriod but different in theme'.The mostdetaileddescriptionof
the littlegoldenshrine,so far,is also to be foundin thesame Guide.3
On thewhole,the inclination has been to interpretthe scenesin a domesticsense.
Carter4himselfhad set the tonewhen he describedthe pictureson the littlegolden
shrinethus:
a seriesoflittle indelightfully
panels... depicting, a number
naivefashion ofepisodes
inthedaily
lifeofkingandqueen.In allthesescenesthedominantnoteisthatoffriendly between
relationship
thehusband andthewife, theunselfconscious thatmarks
friendliness theTellel Amarna
school.

PenelopeFoxs callsthem'charming, unaffected,domestic'and ChristianeDesroches-

Noblecourt6interpretsthemas 'a variety episodescentredupontheirrelationship
of as
lovers'.CyrilAldred,7who had statedin I963 thatthefamoussceneon thebackpanel
of thethroneof Tut(ankhamiin showsthe Queen 'anointingher husbandduringthe
coronationceremonies',was able to writein I9688 about the 'domesticnature'of
exactlythe same scene. Edwards9followsa similarline when he says that 'on the
I All theseobjectsare mentionedin A BriefDescription ofthePrincipalMonuments oftheEgyptianMuseum,
Cairo (Cairo, I964), I44 ff.among 'Objects fromthe Tomb of Tutcankhamun'and also in A Handlist to
Howard Carter'sCatalogueof Objectsin Tutrankhamun's Tombcompiled by Helen Murrayand Mary Nuttall
(Oxford, I968). Given the numbers of the Handlist firstand the numbersof the Cairo Museum Guide in
brackets,theyare registeredas follows:the littlegolden shrinei68 (14); the golden throne91 (i); the orna-
mented chest 540 and 551 (II89); an alabaster lamp 173 (I84); a gold open-work ornament 5I9 (557).
2 I. E. S. Edwards, Treasuresof Tutankhamun (Guide throughthe 1972 Exhibitionat the BritishMuseum),
no. 21. 3 No. 25.
4 Howard Carterand A. C. Mace, The Tombof Tut-ankh-Amen (London, 1923), II9 f.
5 Tutankhamun's Treasures(Oxford,I957), i6.
6 Tutankhamen (Penguin Books, 1965), 197.
7 The Egyptians(London, I963), 254.
8 Id., Akhenaten (London, I969), pl. 10. 9 See nn. 2 and 3 above.

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 THE LITTLE GOLDEN SHRINE OF TUTCANKHAMUN IOI

outerfacesofthe doorare representations of incidentsin thedailylifeofthe kingand

the queen'. But otherwisehe shows a new directionof approachwhen he compares
the littlegolden shrinewiththe per wer of Nekhbet,whichtogetherwiththe per
nu of Wedjoyetformedthe iterty;the two sanctuarieswere regarded,it is said, as
'representative of the sanctuariesof all the local deitiesin theirrespectiveregionsof
the unitedkingdom',thevulturegoddessof El-Kab, Nekhbet,beingthetutelary god-
dess ofUpper Egyptand theserpentgoddessofButo,Wedjoyet,thetutelarygoddess
of Lower Egypt.
Edwardsis also thefirstto drawattention to theimportance of 'The GreatEnchan-
tress'in thehieroglyphic inscriptionofthelittlegoldenshrine.Discussingtheinscrip-
tionson thejamb of the doorway,he statesconcerning the King that'in each case he
is proclaimedas "belovedof(the goddess)Urt Hekau", a namemeaning"The Great
Enchantress"who is calledin anotherinscription on theshrine"Lady ofthePalace"'.
He is doubtful,however,about the identity of the GreatEnchantress, and lateron (in
connectionwitha scene on the rightside of the shrine)he suggeststhatshe may be
'Isis, Hathoror Mut, anyone of whommaybe calledthe GreatEnchantress'.
There is no satisfying evidence,up to now,to explainwhyincidentsof'thedailylife
ofthekingand queen' shouldbe depictedon thewallsofa statesanctuary (evenifit is
in
a sanctuary miniature). The identity of the 'Great Enchantress' who playssuch an
important parton theshrinealso deservescloserscrutiny.
It is herethatI havebeenable to gatheradditionalinformation concerning theiden-
tity of the goddessand, closely connected with the
this,concerning meaningof the
picturesoftheshrineand thesignificance oftheshrineitself.To beginwiththe'Great
Enchantress':as ifobedientto therulesoftruemagic,thename WrtIHkw appearsat
the end of each verticalinscriptionon all fourcornersof the shrine-thatis eight
times-and additionally onceon theroofand onceon theright-hand sideoftheshrine,
as mentionedabove.EighttimestheKing is called'belovedof WrtHk;w' althoughthe
shrinehas theformofthesanctuary oftheUpper EgyptiangoddessNekhbet,who is
not commonlyknownas 'Great Enchantress'.The solutionto the identityof Wrt
Hkiwis to be foundinsidetheshrine.Whileon theoutsidethedominantthemeseems
to be therelationship betweenKing and Queen, insidetheshrinetheKing is literally
to be seen represented in the embraceof WrtHk;w. The Handlist' mentionsthree
objectswhichremainedin the shrineafterthe thieveshad interfered withit, namely
io8a, stand fora statuette;Io8b, part of a corsletand collar; Io8c, necklace and gold
snake-deity pendant.While the standforthe statuetteand the reconstructed corslet
have been in the
pictured books,2 'snake-deity pendant' has remained almostunnoticed.
Carter3calledit 'a largegoldpendantin theshapeofa veryraresnakegoddess'and the
'BriefDescription'4 oftheCairoMuseum(underNo. 85) speaksofa 'pendantrepresent-
inga serpentgoddessof gildedwood'. But so far,no pictureof it has been published.
In I966 I was able to see theobjectin theCairoMuseumwhereit was exhibitedin
Hall 4, the roomof the gold coffin, in case 34. Dr. Abd el-Rahman,thenDirectorof
I See p. ioo n. I above. 2 For example in Carterand Mace, op. cit. I, pl. 38.
3 Op. cit. I, I20. 4 See above, p. Ioo n. x.

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102 KATE BOSSE-GRIFFITHS
theMuseum,was mosthelpfulin gettingphotographers to takea pictureoftheobject
in his presence.Unfortunately, I did not receivethe promisedprint.I am therefore
mostgrateful totheGriffith Oxford,andespeciallytoMissHelenMurray,
Institute, who
madeitpossibleforme togetprintsfromphotographs takenduringtheexcavation ofthe
tombof Tutcankhamun of the snakeamuletand of severalaspectsof the littlegolden
shrine.She also mosthelpfullyprovidedforme copiesof Carter'snotesdescribingthe
necklacewiththesnakeamulet,and ofseveralphotographs relatedto thesubject.
The twophotographs of thenecklacewiththe snake-deity pendantare shownhere
forthefirsttime(p. XXXV, and. The firstpictureshowsthe necklaceas it was
whenit was takenout of the littlegoldenshrine,whereit had been lyingunderwhat
remainedof the ceremonialcorslet,'bound roundwithstringsof cloth'(back view).
In thesecondphotograph appearsthenecklacewithpendantunwrappedand in frontal
view.The pendantis describedin Carter'snotesas
Goddesswithplumedand hornedhead-dress
anhed snakebody,sucklinga standing ofthe
figure
King. Made of heavyplategoldon? Two at
rings back,just
largesuspension belowhead-dress.
onbase.
Inscription
Dimensions.PendantH. 14 cm.,max.width7.3 cm.max.thickness *6[cm.]
There are also six stringsof beads strungon thetwofiguresof thependant:one just
below the head-dressof the goddess; one roundher head; two roundher neck; one
roundthe King's neck,and one roundthe King's legs.
The King is standingcompletely impassivewithhishandshangingdownat thesides
his
of body. He is the
wearing khepresh-crown withuraeus,theusual head-dressofthe
Egyptiankingsduringthe EighteenthDynasty.He wearssandals and is dressedin
a kiltwitha bigapron,and is decoratedwitha bead collarand bracelets.Althoughhe is
standingon a pedestalhe is onlyabouthalfthesize ofthegoddess.She is puttingher
leftarmaroundthelittleking'sshoulder,whileherrighthandis guidinghis mouthto
her breast.Fromthe inscription we understandthatthisis 'the King of Upper and
Lower Egypt,Neb-kheperu-Re(, belovedby WrtHk;w, the mistressof heaven'. In
fact,this groupof uraeus-goddessand King seemslike a pictorialrepresentation of
part of utterance 508 of the PyramidTexts.'
The Mistressof Buto rejoicesand shewhois in Nekhebis glad
On thatday whentheKing advancesin theplace ofRer ...
Thathe maygo up thereon untohismother,
The livinguraeus,thatis upon thehead of Rer . ..
She has compassionon him,
She giveshimherbreastthathe maysuckit . ..
Thegodis on histhrone,
Wellis it thatthegodis on histhrone.
(I I I5c).
It seems thereforethatthe WrtHk;w named so oftenon the outsideof the little
goldenshrineis theuraeusgoddessWedjoyetofButo,thecrowngoddesswhowithher
divinemilkpreparesthe King forhis office.
I Pyr. I107b ff.Cf. Sethe, Komm.v, 6 ff.;Faulkner,Pyr. Texts,183.

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 THE LITTLE GOLDEN SHRINE OF TUTCANKHAMUN Io3
Lookingmorecloselyat the outsideof the littleshrine,one can see there,too, as
Edwardshas noticed,that'a wingeduraeuswiththe eternity signbetweenthewings
occupiestheentirelengthofeach oftheverticalsidesoftheroof'.To dispelanydoubt
thatthis is the correctinterpretationone can comparethe coronationscene in the
templeof Queen HIatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari'in whichWrtHk;w as well as Amiin
are takingpart.WrtHk;w,hereshownas a goddesswithlion-headand crownedwith
the sun-disc,is stretchingher menat-necklace towardsQueen Hatshepsutwiththe
words:
To be spokenbytheGreatEnchantress:
'Daughterofmybody,beloved...
I havesuckledtheeon histhrone
to be a kinglastingeternally'
The wordforsuckle,rnn,is herewrittenwiththe determinative of a womangiving
suck to her child. So, even if the appearancemayvary,the GreatEnchantresswho
sucklesthe King also prepareshimforhis coronation.
Iconographically the closestparallelfora goddessgivingsuck to a standingboy-
kingis perhapsto be foundin thetempleof SethosI at Abydos.2There a numberof
Hathor-goddesses are sucklingtheyoungRamesses,who is wearingdifferent crowns,
withHathorofDendera,HathorofDiospolis,HathorofCusae, and HathorofAphro-
ditopolis,whileIsis herselfis holdingin herarmsa stillsmallersittingfigureof the
infantkingwearingthe khepresh-crown (fig.I). Ramessesis herenamedLord of the
Two Lands as well as Lordof thecrowns.
The important role playedby WrtHk;w duringthe coronationof the King is also
confirmed by an inscription on the back of the double statueof Haremhaband his
queenMutnodjme,whichgivesa written recordof Haremhab'scoronationat Luxor:3
Thendidheproceedto theKing'shouse,(when)he(Amin) hadplacedhim(.Haremhab)
beforehimself,to thePer-Werof his nobledaughterthe Great-[of-Magic [WrtHk3w],
herarms]in welcoming attitude,and sheembraced his beautyand establishedherselfon
hisforehead,and the Divine Ennead,thelordsof Per-neserwerein exultation at the
gloriousarising... Behold,Amfnis come,hissoninfrontof him,to thePalace (fh)in
ordertoestablish hiscrown uponhisheadandinordertoprolong hisperiodliketohimself...

By fixingtheuraeuson the foreheadof Haremhab,his rightto be kingis established

althoughhe was not of royalblood. The uraeuson the royalforeheadis, of course,
Wedjoyet.One need notbe disturbedbythefactthatWrtHkrwis calledthedaughter
of Amin, forherfollowersare stillto be foundamongthe Lords of Buto(Per-neser).
Now it becomesclearwhatitmeanswhen,on theleftside ofthelittlegoldenshrine,
WrtIHkw is once called nbtrhin the inscriptionTutrankhamun, Lord of thecrowns
(nb khcw),beloved
by the GreatEnchantress, Lady of thePalace (nbt (h).
Naville, Deir el-Bahari,iv (EEF, I9OI), pl. Ioi and p. 5.
2
Mariette,Abydos(Paris, I869), I, pl. 25, templeof Sethos, Salle C.
3 Sir Alan Gardiner,'The Coronationof King Hlaremhab',JEA 39 (g953), 13-31, p. I5.

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 Sr r3
c--CICI
JU --L.IC
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''r / ..···

tr
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FIG. I. The nursingof the young Ramesses by Hathor and Isis (Temple of Sethos I at Abydos).

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(-

2. Unwrapped, showing Wrt-Hk3wnursingT

i. As found,enveloped withstringsof cloth: seen here fromback

NECKLACE AND GOLD PENDANT WITH SNAKE-DEITY IN THE LITTLE GOLDEN SHRINE
CourtesyGriffith
Institute,AshmoleanMuseum,Oxford

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PLATEXXXVI

108

Above:theanointment
oftheKing; below: Tutcankhamun
on thethroneof Horus
THE BACK OF THE LITTLE GOLDEN SHRINE OF TUT<ANKHAMUN
Courtesy
Griffith Ashmolean
Institute, Museum,Oxford

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 THE LITTLE GOLDEN SHRINE OF TUT'ANKHAMUN I05
One has to conclude,then,thateverytimeWrtHk;w is namedin theinscriptions of
thelittlegoldenshrine,she is understoodto be thecobragoddessWedjoyetof Butoin
her officeas coronationgoddessand thatthislittleshrinehas a meaningful relation
to the coronationof Tut<ankhamiin himself.
A closerstudyof thepicturesand inscriptions on the outsideof the shrinesupport
and confirmthis conclusion.Direct proofcan be gainedfromthe lowerof the two
picturesat theback of the shrine(pl. XXXVI) whichcan in no waybe interpreted as
a mere 'episode in the daily life of the kingand queen'. Edwards gives a detailed
description withoutcommenting on its probablesignificance:
In thelowerscenetheking,
seatedona throne andwearing
thecrown ofLowerEgypt, raises
his
from
lefthandtoreceive thequeentwonotched the for
sign 'years'.
palm-ribs, hieroglyphic Within
thesesignsarethesymbolsforjubileefestivals
andalsoamuletsignsingroups.
Theyareattached
at thebottomto singletadpoles-thesignfor'Ioo,ooo'-mountedon thesignfor'eternity'.
The
inscription thekingreads:'The sonofRe,LordofDiadems,
behind hasappeared
Tutankhamun
inglory ofHoruslikeRe.'
onthethrone
Thereareonlya fewsmallpointswhereI woulddiffer. The King,itseemsto me,raises
his lefthand in greetingwhilehis righthand clutchesthe crookand flail.Perhapsit
would be betteralso to translatehrwas 'crowns'insteadof 'diadems',as the crowns
of Upper and Lower Egypt,forexample,whichare includedin the conceptof hrw,
are evidentlynot diademsin the strictsense of the word (somethingwhichis tied
aroundthe head). Gardinerhimselfis not quite consistentin his translation of the
inscription of Haremhab. In line 17, where the word hrw used forthe crowns which
Amin setsupon thehead ofthekingis determined withthekhepresh-crown (the'blue'
crown), he translates it 'crowns',while in the introductoryline i he renders nb hrwas
'Lord of Diadems'.
In fact,thissceneis almostan illustration oftheceremony describedintheHaremhab
inscription (line I8) wherethe new King receivestheJubileesof Rerand theyearsof
Horusas kingand also ofthewordsin line 26 mayestthougive himmillions ofjubilees.
The decisivesymbolicobjects in this ceremonyare the 'notched palm-ribs'in
connectionwithtadpole,the sign foreternity, and the symbolsforjubilee festivals
(double halls with and without thrones,and bowl withdiamondpattern).These occur
mainlyin picturesconnectedwiththecoronation and theSed-festival,whichin essence
is a repetition of the coronation.
A close parallelto our pictureof a kingsittingon his thronewearingthered crown
and receivingthe notchedpalm-ribscan be found in a Sed-festivalscene from
Medamud' whereSesostris(Khac-kaw-Re')is sittinginthetwinpavilionon his throne
wearingin one halfthewhitecrownofUpperEgyptand in theothertheredcrownof
Lower Egypt.He receivesnotchedpalm-ribsfromHorus and Seth-Nubtywho are
perchedon standardswithhumanhandswhilenearbyarethetadpoleand symbolsfor
eternity.The double pavilionis surmountedby the wingedsun-discof Horus of
Behdetexactlylike the frontof the littlegold shrine.The onlystriking differenceis
A good reproductionis to be foundin H. Frankfort,
Kingshipand the Gods (Chicago, I948), fig.25.
D 141 I

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Io6 KATE BOSSE-GRIFFITHS
that Tutcankhaminis wearingthe ordinaryroyaldress and not the all-enveloping
whitecoat.Anothersimilarsceneis to be foundin theLuxor temple'showingAmeno-
phis III sittingin the twinpavilionand receivingnotchedpalm-ribsand symbolsof
jubilees fromHorus-falconsperchedon standards,again underthe protectionof the
winged sun-disc (fig. 2). One might
K'V ~/ be inclinedtoassumethattheQueen
( ) ' .>
f~ ratherthanthe'Gods' (ortheirsym-
/sss\ f(3
A^ih ,/
I ij^T /
Ii:}rT topresent,
bols)waschosen atthe
<'1H \, \ ^ coronationof Tutcankhamun,the
,/
sw^<S/ I\I LL
/2/M! jubilees and the yearsof Horus in
thetraditionofAmarna,as a device
r ./
,^ L^. °ofadaptingtraditionswithoutob-
J^?^^~~
K ma literating
them.
t I Butevenherea precedentis given
N?
^i , I tL I '\
lintii
T
by Amenophis III, as is shownon
f a carnelianplaque carvedin relief.
F.
|enh th D nll H ^
eThis s found near the entrance
was
jJ \ ,;; ofthetomb ofAmenophisIII.2 Here
F?/ \| theKingisagainshownseatedinthe
ng on
double pavilion whichis resting
pavilionwhich
FIG. 2. Amenophis III in the Double Hall of the Sed-Festival
on
double
(TempleofAmenophisIII, Luxor). a bowl with diamond pattern(the
symbol for Sed-festival)and sur-
mountedby the wingedsun-disc.AmenophisIII is dressedin the festivalgarment;
he carriestheflailand crook,and wearsthered and whitecrownrespectively. In front
of himstandsQueen Tiye (her name is writtenbehindher) wearinga tall plume on
her head and holdingin one hand the notchedpalm-ribon tadpoleand eternity sign,
and in the othersomethinglikea flower.
It is evident,therefore,thatfortheircoronationceremoniesTutcankhamiun and his
Queen areonlyfollowing examplessetalreadybyKingAmenophisIII and QueenTiye.
Once the truecharacterof thisscene has been establishedmanyotherpeculiarities
becomeclearand fallintotheirplace: forexamplethenamingofPtah and Sakhmetas
well as Amiinand Mut as the King's fatherand motheron theframeofthe back; the
recordingin fullofthefivegreatnamesoftheKingwhicharegivento himduringthe
coronation, on the leftand rightside of the shrine:
May he live,theHorus,mighty Bull, Beautiful-of-Birth,
The Two Ladies, Goodly-of-Laws, whopacifythe Two Lands,
The Horusof Gold,Exalted-of-Crowns whoplacatesthegods,
King of Upper and Lower Lord
Egypt, ofthe Two Lands,
Neb-kheperw-Rec, givenlife.
The sonof Rer, Tutrankhamun;

I A. Gayet, Le Templede Luxor (Mem. Miss. F., 15, Cairo, 1894), pl. 71, fig. I77.
2 CyrilAldred, Akhenaten,217, figs.o9 and 91.

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 THE LITTLE GOLDEN SHRINE OF TUT'ANKHAMUN I07
also the appearanceof lapwingsin adorationon the insideof the doorsof the shrine
and thelapwingon thelefthandoftheruleron theoutsideofone door.
I wantto addressmyselfhereto the interpretation of theuppermostpictureat the
backoftheshrine(pl. XXXVI). It is an anointing scene in whicha vultureholdingthe
for
symbols eternity and life hovers behind the head of the King, who is wearing
thekhepresh-crown and is sittingon a thronewhichcarriesas an ornament thesymbol
forthe unionof thetwo countries.Edwardsdescribesthe Queen as follows:
The queenstoopstowards theking,herright handtouching hisleftarm.In herlefthandshe
toa bunchoflotusflowers
holdsinaddition andbudshangingdownwards, anunguent-coneholder
mounted withlotusflowers.
on a standanddecorated itis a replacementfor
Apparently theunguent-
on
coneholderwithplumesalready the head
queen's abovethecrown
of uraei.

Withhislastsentence,whichis heregivenin italics,I cannotpossiblyagree.According

to anystandardthe Queen could hardlybe involvedin such a doubleaction,carrying
spareequipmentforherselfand 'touching'the King at thesametime.
That theconein thehandoftheQueen is nota mere'replacement' becomesobvious
whenone comparesthisscenewiththealmostidenticalsceneon thebackpanelofthe
goldenthrone,whichhas the additionaladvantageof showingthe figuresin colour.
It has alreadybeen interpreted byAldredas 'thequeen anointingherhusbandduring
the coronationceremonies'.'Here the Queen is carrying herceremonialcrownon her
head, and notthe cone-holder;in factthereis no cone-holderat all but onlya small
basinin thelefthandoftheQueen. Otherwisethesimilarities betweenthetwopictures
are striking:the same attitudesof King and Queen,the same dress,the same throne
withthe symbolof the unionof the two countries;even the different positionof the
leftarmof the Queen mayhave artisticreasonsin thatovercutting of lineson a gold
surfaceis thusavoided.
The decisivedifference lies in the crownsand in the gods who are patronsof the
scene. On thethronethe handsof thesun aregivinglifeto King and Queen,whileon
the littlegoldenshrineit is thetutelarygoddessof Upper Egypt,thevulture,who is
the life-givingpower.
One rathersurprisingsimilarity is to be foundin the titlesof theQueen,whoboth
timesis calledrpctwrthntnbtDimtmrwthnwttiwy:thegreatprincess, thecherishedand
lovedone,Lady oftheTwoLands.But onlyon the littlegoldenshrineis she also called
greatbelovedwifeoftheking.
As the nameofAtenis notyetcompletely deletedfromthegoldenthrone,and the
sun-discis stillshown in its Amarna form, is clearthatthe pictureon the throne
it
showsan olderand less censoredversionof the anointment scene.
There remainstillmanyproblems to be solved,but it will to denythat
be difficult
thepictureon thethroneas wellas thepictureon thebackofthelittleshrineshowthe
anointment oftheKing duringhiscoronation, and thatthelittlegoldenshrineitselfis a
modelof thepr-wrin whichtheKing was crowned.Quite possiblyrepresentations in
reliefwereshownon theactualpr-wr and sceneswereshownalready
just as inscriptions
I See above p. Ioo n. 7.

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io8 KATE BOSSE-GRIFFITHS
on the outsideofthesanctuary erectedby King SesostrisI at Karnakon theoccasion
of his Sed-festival.'It seemslikelythatall the'intimate'scenesofKingand Queen are
representations of happeningsduringthe coronationand thatthe objectson which
theyappear wereused duringthecoronation itself:the alabasterlampwiththe trans-
lucent pictureof the Queen extendingthe notchedpalm-ribsto the King would
certainly be mostsuitableforsucha purposeand thedecoratedchest,too,mighthave
kept the coronationrobes; even the golden open-workornamentshowsthe Queen
touching, perhapsanointing, theKing,andmighthavebeenusedduringthecoronation
procession.
Edwardshimselfhas designatedcertainobjectsof Tut'ankhamiin's treasureas ones
whichmighthave been used duringthecoronation:theseare thelittlegold figure2 of
theKing and theflail3whichstillbearsthenameofTutankhaten.He claimsthat'it is
at leastpossiblethatthisobjectwas usedbyTutankhaten inhiscoronation atEl-Amarna
whenhe was aboutnineyearsof age and beforehe was crownedat Karnak'.
I assumethatall objectswhichshowthe notchedpalm-ribon top of thetadpoleand
symbolof eternity weremade to be used duringthe coronation,and especiallythe
ceremonialcorsletfound(in parts)in thelittlegoldenshrinewithitspictureofthegod
Amin himselfpresenting thenotchedpalm-riband thefestival-hall as wellas thesign
of lifeto theyoungKing.4
If thisis correct,thepartofthetreasureofTut'ankhamfun whichis connectedwith
thecoronation achievesa newhistoricalimportance which goes farbeyondthesignifi-
cance of the symbolicand materialvalue of objectsmade forfunerary use only.
I See forexample EberhardOtto, EgyptianArt and the Cult of Osirisand Amon(London, 1968),pl. 21.
2
Edwards, op. cit.,no. 22. 3 Ibid., no. 44.
4 Detlef M. Noack, Tut Ench Amun(Cologne, 1966 ?), pl. 6o.

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