As I keep stumbling upon the gods and goddesses everywhere, I see a lot of similarities between them. I know I belong to the “different thinkers” and have odd ideas about our genesis. However, it is always fascinating to find all these connections and resemblances.

Here is the mighty goddess Nut (Nuit), the Egyptian sky goddess, born of Shu, god of air, and Tefnut, goddess of water and fertility. With her brother and husband Geb, the earth, she bore Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. No wonder, as Dr C.G.Jung says: The Animus is meant to be cosmic, and “The Anima is the archetype of life itself.”. Here we see another mighty Goddess from Magical Egypt.

Sarcophagus of Djedhor 200–150 B.C.
Djedhor was a royal scribe as well as a priest of Min and Hathor. Besides his name and titles, the inscription on his stone sarcophagus also mentions his mother, Tikas.

(The image on the top: Great goddess Nut with her wings stretched across a coffin By Jonat Thunder (Wikipedia) The quotes by Dr Jung: ~ Visions Seminar, Page 1228. & [CW 9i, par. 66])

Now let’s again read the story of stunning finds by a great genius, Jean-François Champollion & Co. A brilliant report by Marie Grillot.

Champollion and… The “King of Sarcophagi”!

On August 18, 1828, Jean-François Champollion and Ippolito Rosellini, at the head of the Franco-Tuscan mission, landed in Alexandria. Their mission is to visit the monuments of ancient Egypt and to buy objects for the royal collections. Champollion will devote himself, with an infinite passion, to monuments. Still, he will have just as much at heart to enrich the collection of the Egyptian antiquities division of the Charles X museum (future Louvre), inaugurated on December 15, 1827, and of which he was appointed conservative.

To carry the beautiful message of the greatness of Egypt within the Parisian museum, he will choose the most beautiful pieces… The sarcophagus of Djedhor is one of the most emblematic illustrations…

“I acquired in Cairo, from Mahmoud-Bey, the Kihaia, the most beautiful of the present, past and future sarcophagi; it is in green basalt and covered internally and externally with bas-reliefs, or rather cameos worked with perfection and an unimaginable delicacy. It is all that one can imagine being more perfect in this genre; it is a jewel worthy of adorning a boudoir or a living room, so much the sculpture is fine and precious. The cutlery bears, in half-relief, a woman’s figure of admirable sculpture. This single document would acquit me towards the king’s household, not in respect of gratitude, but in financial respect, for this sarcophagus, compared to those for which twenty and thirty thousand francs were paid, is certainly worth a hundred thousand. The bas-relief and the sarcophagus are the two finest Egyptian objects sent to Europe to date. It was right to come to Paris and follow me as the trophy of my expedition; I hope they will remain in the Louvre in memory of me forever.” These are the words, filled with admiration, with which Jean-François Champollion describes the sarcophagus of Djedhor in his letter dated September 15, 1829.

In “Champollion, a life of light”, Jean Lacouture indicates that the green basalt sarcophagus was bought – on the instructions of Champollion – by Alexandre Duchesne (one of the painters of the expedition) from the Minister of War Mahmoud Bey.

Champollion himself will see to the transport of the sarcophagus of “Zeher” and its “installation” on board “L’Astrolabe”, which, under the command of Verninac de Saint Maur, will sail to France, where it will arrive on December 23, 1829.

On December 26 from Toulon, where he is in quarantine, Champollion is still as enthusiastic about his acquisition as he describes to Viscount Sosthène de Larochefoucault. He also asks “that the corvette ‘L’Astrolabe’ on which these precious objects are embarked, be responsible for transporting them from Toulon to Le Havre as soon as the sea is tenable. By obtaining this decision from the Minister of the Navy, you would ensure both Mr Viscount’s conservation of these monuments and their arrival in Paris”.

Thus the graywacke sarcophagus of Djedhor arrived “safe and sound” at the Louvre, where it “thrones” since 1830!

Djedhor was a 30th Dynasty priest of Amun who lived near Memphis. He is shown in profile on the lid with the body of a bird. “At the bottom of the sarcophagus, the goddess of the West protects the dead; all around him, deities including Isis (at the feet) and Nephthys (at the head). Outside, the nocturnal journey of the sun, in which the deceased aspires to participate: a mixture of the Book of Secret Abodes, the Book of Doors and the Litanies to Rê” indicates the site of the Louvre to us. And, on the lid, there is a marvellous representation of Nut, the goddess of the sky, who holds the solar disk in her hands…

How not to agree with this subtle play on words by Jean-François Champollion: “This is not a king’s sarcophagus, but the king of sarcophagi!”

Marie Grillot

sources :

Sarcophage à cuve en cartouche Djedhor

https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010037229

Lettres écrites d’Égypte et de Nubie en 1828 et 1829, by Champollion the Younger, Publisher Didier (Paris), 1868
Champollion, a life of lights, Jean Lacouture, Grasset, 1988

The Harvest of the Gods, Jean-Jacques Fiechter, Julliard, 1994

“Sarcophage du prêtre Djedhor” (Louvre)