Rediscovering Ancient Egyptian Artists: A Study of Middle Kingdom Coffins from Asyut and Rifeh

The regional decorative traditions present on Middle Kingdom coffins from Asyut and Rifeh are extremely ‘deviant’ compared to contemporary sites across Egypt. Their unusual and unique decorative traditions have meant that the coffins have often been overlooked, understudied and excluded from various studies, especially those of a typological nature. There is also a tendency within the study of ancient Egyptian coffins to only ‘see’ the individual the object was made for, and not the craftsmen and workshops which produced them. This thesis aims to offer a way in which to ‘rediscover’ ancient Egyptian coffin workshops and artists from the understudied sites of Asyut and Rifeh during the Middle Kingdom. The study uses a methodology developed specifically for this research, based on a detailed palaeographic, orthographic and comparative analysis of coffin decoration, specifically painted hieroglyphic signs. The results of the application of this methodology provide a greater understanding of decorative processes, artist and workshop organisation, and the transmission of regional styles.