Djed Pillar. Fragment of an Antropoid Inner Coffin

Djed Pillar. Fragment of an Antropoid Inner Coffin.

Present location	ALLARD PIERSON MUSEUM [06/002] AMSTERDAM
Inventory number	APM08103
Dating	21st Dynasty
Archaeological Site	Unknown
Category	COFFIN/SARCOPHAGUS OF HUMANS
Material	WOOD; PLASTER
Technique	PAINTED ON STUCCO
Height	28.8 cm
Width	66 cm
Depth	4.8 cm

The original inventory item can be found at Universiteit van Amsterdam website. Global Egyptian Museum website states:

The object is a fragment of an anthropoid inner coffin. […] Isis and Nephthys bewail a multicoloured Djed-pillar, crowned with a sun-disk.

Isis and Nephthys resemble supporters.

Because the artifact is dated as belonging to the 21^st dynasty, I’ll tentatively put it in Tanis, the capital of such dynasty.

Britannica says:

In 1939 several intact royal tombs of the 21st and 22nd dynasties were excavated in the main temple enclosure in Tanis. Silver coffins, gold masks, and jewelry in gold and silver recall the burial of Tutankhamen, though they are not as rich. Moreover, the tombs and even the sarcophagi were reused material from earlier periods. In 2009 a sacred lake measuring 50 by 40 feet (15 by 12 metres) and dedicated to the goddess Mut was found at Tanis.

The Djed-pillar

The Djed pillar appears in the myth of Isis and Osiris. Set killed Osiris by tricking him into a coffin. The coffin was then flung into the Nile and carried into the ocean. A sacred tree grew around it, enclosing the coffin within its trunk. The king of the land ordered the tree cut down and installed as a pillar in his palace. Later Isis extracted Osiris from the pillar and consecrated it. The Book of the Dead explains that the djed-pillar is the backbone of Osiris. It became the symbol of endurance or stability.

See page 124 of the following book for an extended explanation of the origin of the symbol (called there Ṭeṭ) and many other Egyptian myths:

• S. Budge E. A. Wallis, The gods of the Egyptians; or, Studies in Egyptian mythology, Chicago : Open Court Publishing Co., 1904.
  [Bibtex]

  @Book{godsofegyptianso02budg,
    Title                    = {The gods of the Egyptians; or, Studies in Egyptian mythology},
    Author                   = {{Budge}, E. A. Wallis, Sir},
    Publisher                = {Chicago : Open Court Publishing Co.},
    Year                     = {1904},
    Note                     = {Published: 1904
  Topics: Mythology, Egyptian, Egypt -- Religion
  Identifier: godsofegyptianso02budg
  Mediatype: texts
  Copyright-evidence-operator: Steven F Radzikowski
  Copyright-region: US
  Copyright-evidence Evidence: reported by Steven F Radzikowski for item godsofegyptianso02budg on September 16, 2008: no visible notice of copyright; stated date is 1911.
  Copyright-evidence-date: 20080916115858
  Scanningcenter: nj
  Ppi: 400
  Camera: Canon 5D
  Operator: scanner-joe-ondreicka@...
  Scanner: scribe4.nj.archive.org
  Scandate: 20091016154550
  Imagecount: 560
  Foldoutcount: 1
  Identifier-access: http://www.archive.org/details/godsofegyptianso02budg
  Identifier-ark: ark:/13960/t9280jp07
  Sponsordate: 20080930
  Bookplateleaf: 0003
  Ocr: ABBYY FineReader 8.0},
  
    File                     = {godsofegyptianso02budg.pdf:godsofegyptianso02budg.pdf:PDF},
    Keywords                 = {Mythology, Egyptian, Egypt -- Religion},
    Owner                    = {trismegisto},
    Timestamp                = {2016.01.06},
    Url                      = {https://archive.org/details/godsofegyptianso02budg}
  }

Let’s remember some of the plasma column instabilities:

Let’s see other Djed pillars (and similar things from elsewhere):

globalegyptianmuseum.org