Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 28(1), 97–124 (2025).

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN COSMOLOGICAL VIGNETTE:

FIRST VISUAL EVIDENCE OF THE MILKY WAY AND TRENDS
IN COFFIN DEPICTIONS OF THE SKY GODDESS NUT
Or Graur
Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth
PO1 3FX, UK, and Department of Astrophysics, American Museum of Natural History,
Central Park West and 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA.
E-mail: [Link]@[Link]

Abstract: Here, I test the long-held assumption that the ancient Egyptian Sky Goddess Nut represented the
Milky Way by examining Nut’s visual depictions on ancient Egyptian coffins. I assemble a catalog of 555 coffin
elements, including 118 cosmological vignettes from the 21st/22nd Dynasties, and report several observations.
First, the cosmological vignette on the outer coffin of Nesitaudjatakhet bears a unique feature: a thick, undulating
black curve that bisects Nut’s star-studded body and recalls the Great Rift that cleaves the Milky Way in two.
Similar undulating curves bisect the astronomical ceiling in the tomb of Seti I and appear as part of depictions of
Nut in the tombs of Ramesses IV, VI, and IX. Moreover, the undulating curve resembles similar features identified
as the Milky Way on the bodies of Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni spiritual beings. Hence, I argue that the undulating
curve is a visual representation of the Milky Way and that it supports a previously suggested identification of mr-
nḫ3 (Winding Waterway) as the Galaxy’s Egyptian name. However, the rarity of this feature strengthens the
conclusion reached by Graur (2024a): Though Nut and the Milky Way are linked, they are not synonymous.
Instead of acting as a representation of Nut, the Milky Way is one more celestial phenomenon that, like the Sun
and the stars, is associated with Nut in her role as the sky. Second, Nut’s body is decorated with stars in only a
quarter of the cosmological vignettes, suggesting that the Egyptians of the 21st/22nd Dynasties may have had a
marked preference for the day sky over the night sky. Finally, I discuss the interplay between Nut’s cosmological
vignette and full-length portraits inside coffins from the New Kingdom to the Roman Period in the context of Nut’s
combined cosmological and eschatological roles as an embodiment of the coffin.
Keywords: Milky Way; Nut; cosmology; coffin; Egypt.

1 INTRODUCTION Sun; and Atum, head of the Ennead, is the set-

ting Sun (Allen, 1988: 10). Similarly, the Moon
The astronomy and cosmogony of ancient
is associated with the God Khonsu, while Sir-
Egypt have been active subjects of research
ius is associated with the Goddess Sopdet (al-
since the inception of Egyptology (for a recent
so known as Sothis), and certain stars within
review, see Belmonte and Lull, 2023). Several
the constellation Orion are linked to the God
independent cosmogonies developed in dif-
Sah.
ferent parts of Egypt: Heliopolis, Memphis,
Thebes, Hermopolis, and Esna (for a detailed Several attempts have been made to link
discussion, see Belmonte and Lull, 2023: 1– Nut ( nwt) with the Milky Way (Davis, 1985;
22). In the Heliopolitan model, the world is sur- Graur, 2024a; Kozloff, 1992; 1994; Wells,
rounded by an abyss of endless, inert water. 1992; for a discussion of these works, see
Out of this abyss, the god Atum created him- Graur, 2024a). In the latest such attempt,
self. He then created Shu and Tefnut, the God Graur (ibid.) showed that the textual descript-
of the atmosphere and the Goddess of moist- tion of Nut’s arms in the Fundamentals of the
ure. Both siblings and lovers, Shu and Tefnut Course of the Stars (the original name of the
gave birth to Geb and Nut, Earth and Sky. In book known popularly as the ‘Book of Nut’; for
turn, Geb and Nut gave birth to the brothers an in-depth translation and discussion of the
Osiris and Seth and the sisters Isis and Neph- Fundamentals … see von Lieven, 2007) was
thys. Together, these nine gods are referred to consistent with the Milky Way’s appearance in
as the Ennead. Though different cosmogonies the Egyptian night sky during the winter months.
and deities came and went out of fashion Graur (2024a) also noted that Nut’s roles in
throughout Egyptian history, the gods of the the transition of the deceased to the afterlife
Ennead remained important figures in Egyp- (as described in spells from the Pyramid Texts
tian religion and cosmology. and Coffin Texts) and her link to the annual
Various Egyptian gods are either associ- bird migration (as described in the Funda-
ated with, symbolize, or directly embody certain mentals …) were similar to roles attributed to
celestial objects. The Sun, most famously, is the Milky Way by other cultures (for compara-
personified as several major gods: the scarab- tive studies of the Milky Way among different
headed Khepri is thought to personify the ris- cultures see, e.g., Berezkin, 2010; Graur,
ing Sun; the falcon-headed Re is the midday 2024b; Krupp, 1991; 1995; Lebeuf, 1996). The
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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

main point made by Graur (2024a), as oppos- (1) as a winged, clothed woman depicted in a
ed to previous works, was that while Nut and kneeling position with her wings spread
the Milky Way may have been linked, they were out in protection of the deceased;
not synonymous with each other. Instead, (2) in a full-length, anthropomorphic portrait
Graur (ibid.) suggested that the Milky Way that takes up most of the space on the
served as a figurative marker of Nut’s exist- floorboard of the coffin or the interior of its
ence as the sky, highlighting her arms during lid;
the winter months and her torso or backbone (3) as a clothed woman perched in a syca-
during the summer. In this paper, I study Nut’s more tree, offering food and drink to the
cosmological vignette as it appears on ancient deceased and their ba (part of the Egyp-
Egyptian coffins and identify the first visual tian conception of the self, often depicted
depiction of the Milky Way; a similar effort to as a human-headed bird); and
study Nut’s depictions in funerary papyri is on- (4) as part of the cosmological vignette.
going and will be the subject of a future paper. In this work, I focus primarily on Nut’s fourth
depiction, but I devote a short discussion to
1.1 Depictions of Nut on Ancient Egyptian her winged and full-body depictions in Section
Coffins 5. For an in-depth discussion of her role as
Nut’s depictions on Egyptian coffins stem from one of the Goddesses of the Sycamore, see
the myriad roles played by this Goddess in the Billing (2002).
transition of the deceased to the afterlife (for a
review, see Hollis, 2019). Several spells from 1.2 Nut’s Celestial Roles and the
the Pyramid Texts (carved on the walls of the Cosmological Vignette
burial chambers in the pyramids of the Old As the Goddess of the Sky, Nut played several
Kingdom) and the Coffin Texts (found on roles in ancient Egyptian astronomy and cos-
Middle Kingdom coffins) call on Nut to shield mology. First, as the sky she protected the
the deceased with her arms, reassemble their Earth from being inundated by the encroaching
bones, nourish them, give birth to them once waters of the void. Second, as described in the
more, and guide them up to the sky. Graur Fundamentals …, Nut was an integral part of
(2024a) argued that the latter role, which is the daily Solar cycle. As the Sun set in the
expressed as Nut reaching her arm out to the west, it was swallowed by Nut. It then traveled
deceased or acting as a ladder, helps to link through Nut’s body, which, at least for a time,
Nut to the Milky Way. Here, I focus on Nut’s was synonymous with the netherworld (Duat;
protection of the deceased and her identifica- dw3t) where it was rejuvenated in an en-
tion with the coffin. These roles are attested at counter with Osiris. Nut then gave birth to the
least as early as the Old Kingdom in several Sun as it rose in the east. In a variation of this
spells from the Pyramid Texts (see Graur, ibid., role, Nut also gave birth to and swallowed the
and Hollis, 2019 for examples). Perhaps the decan stars (certain stars and asterisms
most relevant of these is spell 364. Faulkner thought to have been used as a star clock
(1969: 119) translated the relevant part of the during the night; see Belmonte and Lull, 2023:
spell as: 123 –132) as they rose and set throughout the
… you having been given to your night (von Lieven, 2007; 2010).
mother Nut in her name of ‘Sarco- Nut’s celestial roles gained a visual depic-
phagus’, she has embraced you in her tion in the cosmological vignette, in which she
name of ‘Coffin’, and you have been is shown as a naked, arched woman, some-
brought to her in her name of ‘Tomb’. times covered with stars (Figure 1a– b). She is
In his more modern translation, Allen usually held aloft by her father Shu, while her
(2015: 84) translated the same section as: brother Geb lies underneath. Nut’s arched post-
ure is seen as evoking her identification with
You have been given to your mother the sky and its protection of the Earth below
Nut in her identity of the entombment, (e.g., Niwiński, 2011; te Velde, 1977). Nut’s
she has collected you in her identity of role in the daily Solar cycle is also prominent in
the tomb chamber, and you have been these vignettes. She is either shown swallow-
elevated to her in her identity of the ing and giving birth to the Sun or carrying the
tomb’s superstructure. Solar Bark on her back (e.g., Figure 1c –e).
The identification of Nut with the coffin, Geb is usually colored green or shown cover-
sarcophagus, and tomb is seen in her frequent ed by green reeds, strengthening his role as
and varied depictions on coffins from the New the Earth. In peculiar cases (e.g., Figure 1f),
Kingdom down to the Roman Period. Her four Shu is replaced either by a headless mummy
most frequent visual depictions are: or by a different deity, e.g., the ram-headed
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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

Figure 1: Examples of Nut’s cosmological vignette. (a): C78, a typical example featuring a naked Nut supported
by Shu and arched over a green-colored Geb (courtesy: Museo Egizio); (b) C84, a typical example in which Nut
is covered in stars (courtesy: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden); (c): C89, Nut swallowing and giving birth to winged
Sun discs (courtesy: Turaev, 1914); (d) C94, Nut carrying the Sun in the Solar Bark (courtesy: Museum
Gustavianum); (e) C104, Nut wearing a spotted rug (courtesy: C77, Museo Egizio); (f) Nut supported by Re
instead of Shu (courtesy: image © National Museums Scotland); (g) C75, an example of a black-colored Nut
(courtesy: Museo Egizio, © Photo Nicola Dell'Acquila/Museo Egizio); (h) C79, example of a black-colored Nut
and an ithyphallic Geb (courtesy: Mueso Egizio).

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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

Re, the God of Magic Heka, or the dwarf god lution of ancient Egyptian coffins as a whole,
Bes. Nut is usually not colored in, except for see Niwiński (1988) and Sousa (2018).
rare instances where she is either colored The variety of vignettes painted onto the
white or completely black (Figure 1g –h). In coffins stems from the transition from the opu-
one peculiar instance, Nut’s head is replaced lent tombs of the Ramesside period (19th and
with that of a serpent (Niwiński, 1995: Figure 20th Dynasties) to the simple, unadorned tombs
1). of the 21st Dynasty. Niwiński (1988: 18) sug-
The cosmological vignette is first attested gested that this transition stemmed from the
at the beginning of the 19th Dynasty (the early need to defend the mummies from grave rob-
Ramesside Period) in the monumental witness bers. More importantly, Niwiński (1988: 18) ar-
of the Fundamentals … in the Cenotaph of gued that the paintings on the coffins of the
Seti I at Abydos (Frankfort, 1933: Plate 81). 21st Dynasty were a continuation of the tomb
Additional witnesses of the Fundamentals …, decorations of the previous dynasties, though
which also include this vignette, are found in in a condensed form. In this context, we should
the tombs of Ramesses IV and Mutirdis (in all think of the cosmological vignette as an evolu-
three of which Geb is absent), and the Osirian tion of the Fundamentals ... Geb, who is only
Chapel at the Temple of Dendera from the mentioned in the text of the Fundamentals …,
Ptolemaic Period (Cauville, 1997: Plates 204, is now an integral part of the vignette. And
235; in which Shu is absent). Similar depic- while Nut is naked in most of the vignettes
tions of Nut as an arched woman, yet without (Figure 1a), the stars that cover her body in
the presence of both Shu and Geb, appear in some of the vignettes (Figure 1b) may have
monumental versions of the Book of the Day started off as a replacement of the list of decan
and the Book of the Night in the tombs of stars that appeared along Nut’s back in the
Ramesses VI and Ramesses IX (Maravelia, Ramesside tombs. Some vignettes continued
2003), on funerary stele from the 22nd to the to depict Nut swallowing and giving birth to the
26th Dynasties (Calmettes, 2024: 113 –115), Sun (Figure 1c), while others chose to depict
and on the walls of the Temple of Hathor and her carrying the Sun on her back, either as a
the Osirian Chapel in Dendera (Cauville, 1997: Solar disc, the Solar Bark, or as a scarab (Fig-
plates 60, 86, 115, 144, 260, 283). The Book ure 1d – e). The latter may have been a way to
of the Divine Cow, attested in the tombs of Seti merge Nut’s descriptions in the Fundamentals
I, Rameses III, Rameses VI, and Tutankha- … and the Book of the Divine Cow into one
mun, provides a variation of the cosmological visual.
vignette in which Nut is transformed into a
cow, held aloft by Shu and several Heh Gods, 2 DATA
in order to carry the weary Re on her back In order to study variations in Nut’s appear-
(Clagett, 1992: 539 – 540; Hornung, 1982: 41– ance in the cosmological vignette, I began by
42; Simpson, 2005: 290– 293). searching for it on coffins on display at various
However, the most prolific use of the cos- museums around the world. At first, I relied on
mological vignette is found on coffins and fun- the digital collections that large museums,
erary papyri from the 21st and early 22nd such as the Louvre and the British Museum,
Dynasties (ca. 1075 –945 and 945– 715 BCE, make available via their public-facing websites.
respectively; see Table 1 for the dates of all I then expanded my search to include printed
other dynasties mentioned in this work). The museum catalogs and scholarly publications
burial assemblages of the 21st and early 22nd that focused on the coffins of a specific mus-
Dynasties were composed of nested anthro- eum or a specific dynasty. To be included in
poid coffins: a large outer case with a mummi- the sample, a coffin was required to have de-
form lid, a smaller inner case with its own tailed photographs or sketches from all angles
mummiform lid, and a mummy board that rest- in order for me to determine whether it includ-
ed on top of the mummy. All three components ed a depiction of Nut.
of the burial assemblage were made of wood At the time of writing, the catalog includes
and decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions 555 coffin elements from all eras of ancient
and myriad vignettes from the Book of the Egyptian history (Table 1). By coffin elements,
Dead (for a review of the Book of the Dead I refer to sarcophagi, coffin cases, coffin lids,
during these dynasties, see Lenzo, 2023). The and mummy covers. During some eras, the
burial assemblages also included shabti figur- deceased would be buried in a coffin set com-
ines, papyri versions of the Book of the Dead posed of several of these elements. As each
and the Amduat, and other objects. For typo- museum presents its collection differently, some
logical and chronological reviews of these so- items in my catalog refer to a single element
called ‘yellow coffins’ in the context of the evo- (e.g., a lid or a case) while others refer to part of
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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

an assemblage (e.g., an inner coffin case along as well as the original hieroglyphs, see Ni-
with its lid). In this work, I do not include papy- wiński (1988) and Klische (2024).
ri, amulets, shabti figurines, and other objects
that were buried together with the deceased. 2.1 Notes on Individual Vignettes
Due to its size, the full catalog is not included Several of the cosmological vignettes in Table
in this paper but will be shared on request. 2 deserve closer scrutiny. In two vignettes,
Once it became clear that the majority of namely C9 and C13, Nut was either described
cosmological vignettes were found on coffin or sketched, respectively, as naked. However,
sets of the 21st and 22nd Dynasties, I expand- images and sketches shared with me (A.
ed my search to include scholarly publications Klische, pers. comm., 2024) revealed that Nut
that focused on the coffin sets of this era. In was, instead, covered in stars. In a similar vein,
this way, I assembled a sample of 75 cosmo-
logical vignettes. At this point, I was introduced Table 1: Coffin sample, by Dynasty (following the
chronology of Hornung, 1999).
to Andrzej Niwiński and Agnes Klische. By com-
paring their catalogs to mine, I grew my sample Dynasty Years Number
to 118 cosmological vignettes on 21st/22nd Unknown — 7
Dynasty coffins (Table 2) and five vignettes on Old Kingdom
coffins from later dynasties (Table 3). Thus, the 4 2600 – 2571 BCE 1
sample presented in this paper reflects the First Intermediate Period
11 2081–1938 BCE 4
current census of Nut’s cosmological vignettes
Unknown 2198 –1938 BCE 3
as they appear on ancient Egyptian coffins.
Middle Kingdom
In the process of searching for examples 12 1938 –1759 BCE 9
of the cosmological vignette, I noted any de- Second Intermediate Period
piction of Nut on the coffins in my catalog. It is 17 1640 –1539 BCE 4
important to note that, while Tables 2 and 3 New Kingdom
provide a complete list of the known examples 18 1539 –1292 BCE 32
of cosmological vignettes on Egyptian coffins, 19 1292 –1188 BCE 8
20 1188 –1075 BCE 5
the broader catalog from which they are de-
19/20 1
rived is not complete. First, it does not repre-
20/21 2
sent an exhaustive search of all Egyptian col- Unknown 1539 –1075 BCE 12
lections. Second, due to the archival nature of Third Intermediate Period
this work, it is biased towards large museums 21 1075 – 945 BCE 287
whose collections have either been described 22 945 –715 BCE 49
in academic papers or digitized and made avail- 23 818 –715 BCE 2
able on their public-facing websites. Third, only 25 712 – 664 BCE 42
a fraction of the coffins in museum collections 22/23 4
has been digitized from all angles. Fourth, be- 25/26 20
cause the large majority of cosmological vig- 22 – 26 4
nettes is found on coffins from the 21st/22nd Late Period
Dynasties, the catalog is biased towards cof- 26 664 – 525 BCE 24
fins from that era. Despite these caveats, this 30 380 – 343 BCE 7
sample does reveal certain trends in the way 26/27 645 – 404 BCE 1
Unknown 664 – 343 BCE 4
Nut was depicted on coffins throughout ancient
Ptolemaic Period
Egyptian history (Section 5).
Ptolemaic 305 – 30 BCE 13
Throughout this paper, I refer to various Roman Period
coffins as they are numbered in Tables 2 and Roman 30 BCE – 642 CE 10
3. Thus, the coffin of Nes-per-nebu in the col-
lection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in whereas I classified Nut as naked in C98,
Vienna is referred to as C1. In most cases, I Agnes Klische classified her as covered in
present the names of the coffins’ occupiers as stars. My classification is based on an image
they appear in the publications I consulted. of C98 from Bristol Museum & Art Gallery’s
Egyptian names are transcribed differently in digital collection. A close examination of a
different languages, but the only times I at- high-resolution version of this image reveals
tempted to standardize the transcription of no traces of stars.
specific names was when a coffin set was split In vignettes C7 and C110, Nut seems to
between different museums or when a name be covered in spots instead of the more stan-
from an older or non-English publication was dard five-pointed stars. I treat these as simply
updated by a later publication or one written in a different depiction of stars. An exception to
English. For more homogenous transcriptions, this rule is C77, in which Nut is mostly naked
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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

Table 2: 21st/22nd Dynasty coffins with cosmological vignettes of Nut.

No. Museum Country Museum ID Name* Source
C1 Kunsthistoriches Austria ÄS 6270 Nes-per-nebu Digital collection;
Museum Wien Egner and
Haslauer (2009);
Virey (1910)
C2 Museu Nacional, Rio Brazil Inv. 525-526 Hori Kitchen (1990:
de Janeiro 133, Plate 121)
C3 Metternich Museum, Czech 1086 Ken Amon Digital
Lázně Kynžvart Republic collection
C4 Graeco-Roman Egypt 1297 Khonsumes Klische (2024:
Museum, Alexandria W1)
C5 Alexandria National Egypt 135 (Cairo Akhaneferamon (O) Niwiński (2023:
Museum J29670) 999)
C6 Alexandria National Egypt 136 (Cairo Akhaneferamon (I) Niwiński (2023:
Museum J29670) 1027)
C7 Egyptian Museum in Egypt A.138 Tashedkhonsu Klische (2024:
Cairo W18)
C8 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6002; (Henttaui) Chassinat (1909:
Cairo J29658 5); Klische (2024:
W19)
C9 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6005; Istemkheb (O) Chassinat (1909:
Cairo J29717 15); Klische (2024:
W20)
C10 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6008; Istemkheb (I) Chassinat (1909:
Cairo J29740 Figure 26)
C11 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6011; Pamesḥm Klische (2024:
Cairo J29718 W21)
C12 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6022; Chassinat (1909:
Cairo J29711 73)
C13 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6038; Tjanefer Niwiński (1995:
Cairo J29702 Figure 1); Klische
(2024: W22)
C14 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6042; Anonymous Niwiński (1995:
Cairo J29680 Figure 7)
C15 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6076; Khaas Niwiński (1995:
Cairo J29665 Figure 85)
C16 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6079; Paduamun (I) Niwiński (1999:
Cairo J29668 Figure 25); Abbas
(2014: 53)
C17 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6081; Paduamun (O) Niwiński (1999:
Cairo J29668 figure 13); Abbas
(2014: 29)
C18 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6090; Djedmutiusankh Niwiński (2011:
Cairo J29679 Figure 34)
C19 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6099; Ankhefenmut Niwiński (2023:
Cairo J29692 1389)
C20 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6130; Tashedkhonsu Klische (2024:
Cairo J29625 W30)
C21 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6148; Ankhensenmut Klische (2024:
Cairo J29675 W33)
C22 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6153; Amunpermut Niwiński (1999:
Cairo J29706 Figure 132);
Guilhou (2017)
C23 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6157; Paifudjar Klische (2024:
Cairo J29616 W35)
C24 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6169; Nespaneferher Klische (2024:
Cairo J29664 W36)
C25 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6173; Amenniutnakht Sousa (2020:
Cairo J29649 106, 128)
C26 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6180; Nesyamenemope Niwiński (1999:
Cairo J29659 64)
C27 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6183; Djedmaatiusankh (I) Niwiński (1999:
Cairo J29660 Figure 58);
Guilhou (2017)

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C28 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6186; Userhetmes (I) Klische (2024:

Cairo J29661 W40)
C29 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6188; Tchent-ipet (O) Niwiński (1999:
Cairo J29662 Figure 108)
C30 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6190; Tchent-Ipet (I) Niwiński (1999:
Cairo J29662 Figure 124);
Guilhou (2017)
C31 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6201; Shedsuamon (O) Niwiński (2023:
Cairo J29678 1641)
C32 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6203; Shedsuamon (I) Niwiński (2011:
Cairo J29678 Figure 35)
C33 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6209; Ankhefenkhonsu Klische (2024:
Cairo J29663 W45)
C34 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6212; Userhetmes (O) Klische (2024:
Cairo J29661 W46)
C35 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6214; Djedmaatiusankh (O) Niwiński (1999:
Cairo J29660 Figure 38)
C36 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6229; Mashasekebt Klische (2024:
Cairo J29667 W48)
C37 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6233; Paduamun Bruyère (1930:
Cairo J29666 Figure 104)
C38 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6253; Tjanefer Klische (2024:
Cairo J29682 W50)
C39 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6261; Tjanefer Niwiński (2011:
Cairo J29736 Figure 30)
C40 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6265; Dukhonsuiry (I) Niwiński (2023:
Cairo J29733 1281)
C41 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6267; Dukhonsuiry (O) Niwiński (2023:
Cairo J29733 1233)
C42 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6272; Menkheperre Klische (2024:
Cairo J29628 W54)
C43 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6279; Tairetra Niwiński (2023:
Cairo J29737 1097)
C44 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6291; Nesimen (O) Klische (2024:
Cairo J29611 W56)
C45 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 6293; Nesimen (I) Klische (2024:
Cairo J29611 W57)
C46 Egyptian Museum in Egypt J29620 Djedkhonsuiufankh Niwiński (2021:
Cairo (F) Figure 8), Klische
(2024: W62)
C47 Egyptian Museum in Egypt J29635 Gatseshen Niwiński (2023:
Cairo 1604), Klische
(2024: W63)
C48 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 61027 Masahirta Daressy (1909:
Cairo Plate 37)
C49 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 61030 Nesikhonsu Daressy (1909:
Cairo Plate 48)
C50 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 61031 Astemkheb Daressy (1909:
Cairo Plate 52)
C51 Egyptian Museum in Egypt CG 61032 Taiuhert Daressy (1909:
Cairo Plate 56)
C52 Egyptian Museum in Egypt — Anonymous (F) Klische (2024:
Cairo W64)
C53 Egyptian Museum in Egypt — Anonymous Klische (2024:
Cairo W65)
C54 El Arish Egypt (Cairo J29651) Sennu Niwiński (2023:
953)
C55 Louvre France 5171 Bakenkhonsu Digital collection
C56 Louvre France E 10636 Djedkhonsouioufânkh Digital collection
C57 Louvre France E 13034 Tanetnahereret Digital collection
C58 Louvre France E 13036 Anonymous woman Niwiński and
Rigault-Déon
(2024: 326-327)
C59 Louvre France N 2562 Tanetimen (I) Digital collection
C60 Louvre France N 2570 Paser (I) Niwiński and

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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

Rigault-Déon
(2024: 211)
C61 Louvre France N 2581 Paser (O) Digital collection
C62 Louvre France N 2610 Soutymes Digital collection
C63 Musée d’Aquitaine, France Mesuret-8590 Iteneferamon Dautant et al.
Bordeaux (2011);
Perrot (1844)
C64 Musée des Beaux-Arts France A.778 Seramon Niwiński (2011:
et d'Archéologie, Figure 43)
Besançon
C65 Musée Testut Latarjet France — Kamenishery Jamen (2016);
d'Anatomie de Lyon Dautant and
Jamen (2017)
C66 Musée d’Archéologie France 5171 Bakenkhonsu Dautant (2013),
Méditerranéenne de Klische (2024:
Marseille W79)
C67 Musée Centre de la France 253.1 Khonsumes Klische (2024:
Vieille Charité, W78)
Marseille
C68 Musée Departmental France 56.6424 Ankhkheriretiu Klische (2024:
Dobreé, Nantes W81)
C69 Museum of Natural France — Iufenkhonsu Niwiński (2023:
History Perpignan 540)
C70 Unknown museum in France — — Lanzone (1881:
Paris (?) 407, Plate 158)
C71 Ägyptisches Museum Germany ÄM 8 Tanetimen (O) Klische (2024:
und Papyrussammlung W3)
C72 Ägyptisches Museum Germany ÄM 28 Taiuheret Klische (2024:
und Papyrussammlung W4)
C73 Museum of Fine Arts Hungary 87.5-E Horhotep (F) Kóthay and Liptay
Budapest (2013: 84-85)
C74 Museum of Fine Arts Hungary 51.325 Unknown (F) Digital
Budapest collection
C75 Museo Egizio Italy Cat. 2214 — Niwiński (2011:
Figure 45);
S. Töpfer (pers.
comm., 2024)
C76 Museo Egizio Italy Cat. 2226 Tabakenkhonsu Digital collection
C77 Museo Egizio Italy Cat. 2228 Tamutmutef Digital collection
C78 Museo Egizio Italy Cat. 2236 Butehamon Digital collection
C79 Museo Egizio Italy Cat. 2237 Butehamon Digital collection
C80 Museo Egizio Italy Cat. 2238 Khonsumes Digital collection
C81 Museo Archeologico Italy 8527 Khonsumes Sousa (2019:
Nazionale di Firenze 183)
C82 Museo Archeologico Italy 8528 Djedmutiuesankh Sousa (2019:
Nazionale di Firenze 101)
C83 Civico Museo Italy 12086 Anonymous woman Digital
d'Antichità J.J. Win- collection
ckelmann, Trieste
C84 Rijksmuseum van Netherlands F 93/10.1a Gautseshen (O) Digital
Oudheden collection
C85 Rijksmuseum van Netherlands F 93/10.1b Gautseshen (I) Digital
Oudheden collection
C86 Rijksmuseum van Netherlands AMM 2-a Amenhotep Digital
Oudheden collection
C87 Rijksmuseum van Netherlands AMM 18-h Djedmontefanch Digital
Oudheden collection
C88 Pushkin State Museum Russia I.1.a 6800 Iusankh Lavrentyeva
of Fine Arts (2021)
C89 National Museum of Russia КП-5404/1 Nesitaudjatakhet (I) Bolshakov (2017);
the Tatarstan Republic Turaev (1904,
1914)
C90 National Museum of Poland MNW 139072 Anonymous Bruyère and
Warsaw Bataille (1936:
Plate 6)

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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

C91 Geographical Society Portugal SGL-AC-519 Henut-taui Sousa (2017:

of Lisbon Plates 83, 89)
C92 Museo Arqueologico Spain 18257 Asetemakhbit Digital
Nacional collection
C93 Museo Arqueologico Spain 15216 Amenemhat Digital
Nacional collection
C94 Museum Gustavianum Sweden VM 228 Khonsumes Digital collection
C95 Medelhavsmuseet Sweden MME 1977:018 Unknown (F) Digital collection
C96 Musée d'Art et Switzerland A 2016-0014 Tanetnakht (F) Digital collection
d'Histoire, Geneva
C97 Bolton City Museum UK 69.30 Taiuhenut Klische (2024: W6)
C98 Bristol Museum & Art UK Ha7386.1037 Horemkenesi Digital collection;
Gallery Dawson et al.
(2002: 43); Taylor
(1996: Plate 4)
C99 The British Museum UK EA15658 Amenhotep (F) Klische (2024:
W72)
C100 The British Museum UK EA29591 Inpehefnakht Digital collection
C101 Fitzwilliam Museum UK E.1.1822 Nespawershefyt (O) Digital collection;
in-person visit
C102 Fitzwilliam Museum UK E.1.1822 Nespawershefyt (I) Digital collection;
in-person visit
C103 Fitzwilliam Museum UK E.1.1822 Nespawershefyt (M) Digital collection;
in-person visit
C104 National Museums UK A.1907.569 Iufenamun Manley and
Scotland Dodson (2010: 49)
C105 Swansea University UK W1982 Iwesenhesetmut Digital
Egypt Centre collection
C106 Odessa Archaeological Ukraine OAM 71695 Nesimut Tarasenko
Museum (2017)
C107 Odessa Archaeological Ukraine OAM 52976 Nesitaudjatakhet (O) Tarasenko
Museum (2016)
C108 Boston Museum of USA 54640 Henuttaui Klische (2024:
Fine Arts W8)
C109 Brooklyn Museum USA 08.480.2a-c Pasebakhaienipet Digital collection
C110 Carnegie Museum of USA 1-1 Anonymous Niwiński (2023:
Natural History, 541)
Pittsburgh
C111 Carnegie Museum of USA 22266-3 Anonymous Niwiński (2023:
Natural History, 542)
Pittsburgh
C112 Los Angeles County USA M.47.3a-c Anonymous Digital
Museum of Art collection
C113 The Metropolitan USA 25.3.8b Menkheperre Klische (2024:
Museum of Art W84)
C114 The Metropolitan USA 25.3.183 Henettawy Klische (2024:
Museum of Art W83)
C115 The Metropolitan USA 30.3.24a, b Nauny Digital collection;
Museum of Art in-person visit
C116 Michael C. Carlos USA 1999.001.017A Tanakhtnettahat Digital
Museum collection
C117 National Museum of USA A154954-0 Tenetkhonsu Digital
Natural History collection
C118 Virginia Museum of USA L.7.47.72 Itamun Digital
Fine Arts, Richmond collection
*Key: Rows with numbers in green highlighting denote vignettes in which Nut is decorated with stars.
In the ‘Name’ column, (O), (I), (M), and (F) denote outer coffin, inner coffin, mummy cover, and
fragment, respectively.

except for a spotted rug on her back, on which spots do not cover all of Nut’s body in this vig-
rests a winged Solar disc (Figure 1e). A similar nette, I do not treat C77 as an example of a
spotted rug is often seen in a different vignette star-studded Nut.
on the back of the sacred cow as she emerges
from the Western Mountain. On the C77 coffin, Intriguingly, in vignettes C75 and C78, Nut
both the cow and its rug are spotted. Since the is painted almost or entirely black, respectively

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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

(Figure 1g –h). This might be a different way to interior of the headboard of the coffin case.
depict Nut as the night sky. However, in C75, Both Shu and Geb are absent. These pro-
Geb is also painted black (though Shu is paint- perties mark C86 either as a peculiar version
ed the usual brown), while in C78 Geb, Isis, of the cosmological vignette (such as C103, in
and Nephthys are all painted black as well. which Nut, held by Heka, is painted on the in-
Thus, it is unclear what exactly the black hue side of a mummy cover) or as an independent
depiction of Nut. Since this is the only instance
is supposed to symbolize in these vignettes.
in which I have seen Nut depicted in her arch-
Vignette C70 is only attested by Lanzone ed, starred form on a 21st/22nd Dynasty coffin
(1881: 407, Plate 158), who sketched Nut with- outside of the standard cosmological vignette,
out stars. However, a very similar sketch ap- I have elected to include it in my sample.
pears in Wilkinson (2003: 129), in which stars
Finally, the cataloging of vignettes C7 and
cover Nut’s torso (but not her arms or legs).
C12 is unclear. The coffins in the collection of
Lanzone (1881) claimed to have seen the vig-
the Egyptian Museum in Cairo have been cat-
nette in an unnamed museum in Paris (which
aloged by several Egyptologists over a span of
is probably not the Louvre, since the latter
nearly a century (Chassinat, 1909; Daressy,
museum is noted, by name, in the second half
1909; Moret, 1913; Niwiński, 1995; 1999), and
of the page when referring to a vignette of Nut
the work is still far from finished. These coffins
on a papyrus in the Louvre’s collection). Wil-
are cataloged using three different numbers.
kinson (2003) does not provide a source for
Coffin sets are given a journal number (ab-
the sketch, only noting that it was created by
breviated as J, JE, or JdE, depending on the
Philip Winton. Both sketches are nearly iden-
publication), while individual coffin elements
tical to C117, in the collection of the Smith-
are given a Catalogue Général (CG) number.
sonian Institution’s National Museum of Natu-
For example, the outer and inner coffins of Pa-
ral History in Washington, D.C. An image of
duamun are cataloged as CG 6079 and CG
C117 from the museum’s digital collection clear-
6081, respectively, but they both belong to
ly shows Nut’s torso covered in stars, as in
J29668. Coffin sets from the second cache from
Philip Winton’s sketch. I suggest that C70 and
Deir el-Bahari (also known as the Bab el-
C117 are two separate coffins. The where-
Gasus cache; see Section 3, below) were first
abouts of the first, which was sketched by Lan-
cataloged by Daressy (1907) with A numbers.
zone (1881), have been lost. The second cof-
Paduamun, for example, is A.87. Since only a
fin was only discovered in 1891 as part of the
fraction of the vignettes in Table 2 belong to
second cache of Deir el-Bahari and has been
the second cache from Deir el-Bahari, their
in the Smithsonian’s collection since it was gift-
Daressy numbers are not noted here (they are,
ed to the US by the Khedive of Egypt in 1893
however, noted in the full catalog, available by
(see Section 3, below). It is most likely that
request). In most cases, the J, CG, and A num-
Philip Winton sketched the latter coffin.
bers of a specific coffin element are in agree-
Vignette C75, which was not included in ment between different publications. The two
the Niwiński (1988) catalog, is shown in Figure exceptions are C7, which Klische (2024) only
45 in Niwiński (2011). However, Niwiński (2011) cataloged according to the deceased’s Dares-
does not name the owner of the coffin. The sy number, and C12, originally cataloged by
Museo Egizio’s record of this coffin also lacks Chassinat (1909: 70) as CG 6022. Niwiński
a name, as the museum does not hold the cof- (1988: 129) associates the latter coffin element
fin’s lid in its collection (S. Töpfer, pers. comm., with J29711 and A.86, which has different CG
2024). Hence, this coffin remains unnamed in numbers (6027– 6029). Here, I note Chassin-
Table 2. The same is true of C70, which is not at’s original CG number along with the J num-
named by Lanzone (1881). ber provided by Niwiński (1988). Neither Chas-
Vignette C86 is a depiction of Nut in her sinat nor Niwiński provide a transcription of the
arched form, covered in stars, painted on the owner’s name, so I have only reproduced its
Table 3: Coffins with cosmological vignettes of Nut from later Dynasties.
No. Museum Country Museum ID Name Dynasty Source
C119 Egyptian Egypt CG 41003 Neskhonsout II 26 Moret (1913:
Museum in Cairo Plate 11)
C120 Egyptian Egypt TR [Link] Ankhrui 30 Petrie (1889:
Museum in Cairo Plate 2)
C121 Louvre France E 3913 Tachepenkhonsou 25 Digital collection
C122 The British UK EA15655 Hor 25 Digital
Museum collection
C123 Unknown ? — Ir 26 Sharpe and Bonomi
(1858: Plate 1)

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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

hieroglyphic form. ed close to her mouth, representing the Sun

being swallowed as it sets, while a second wing-
3 THE COSMOLOGICAL VIGNETTE ed Solar disc is painted next to her groin, re-
ON THE OUTER COFFIN OF presenting the Sun being reborn as it rises in
NESITAUDJATAKHET the east. Shu is absent, his place taken by the
In 1891, Eugène Grébaut and Georges Dares- Solar Bark ferrying Re and a winged uraeus.
sy unearthed the tomb of 153 priests and priest- The cosmological vignette on Nesitaudja-
esses of Amun from the 21st Dynasty in Deir takhet’s outer coffin (Figure 2) deserves a more
el-Bahari, next to the first courtyard of the detailed description. Nut appears naked, save
temple of Queen Hatshepsut (Daressy, 1900). for an ankle bracelet, and her body is covered
The tomb included more than 200 coffins (Dar- with stars and an undulating black curve, dis-
essy, 1907) and their associated papyrus scrolls cussed in detail below. Nut is flanked by wing-
and other funerary artefacts. Most of the cof- ed uraei with urea rings ( šn) between their
fins from what has come to be known as the outstretched wings. The hieroglyphs surround-
Bab el-Gasus (Gate of the Priests) Cache ing the winged uraeus next to Nut’s head (
were retained for the Giza Museum, now the
nỉt) indicate it is a depiction of the Goddess
Egyptian Museum in Cairo. In 1893, a fraction
of the coffins was divided into 17 lots that were Neith. It is unclear whether the winged uraeus
gifted by the Khedive of Egypt, Abbas II Hilmy on Nut’s other side is also linked to Neith, as it
(‫)عباس حلمي باشا‬, to (by lot number): France, lacks the hieroglyph . Below the uraei, Nut’s
Austria, Turkey, the UK, Italy, Russia, Portugal, name is written as along with a Solar
Switzerland, USA, Netherlands, Greece, Spain, disc ( ), ankh ( Ꜥnḫ), and a was scepter
Sweden and Norway, Denmark, and the Vat- ( w3s). The was scepters may symbolize the
ican (for reviews surrounding the history of the pillars of the sky (M. Tarasenko, pers. comm.,
Bab el-Gasus Cache and the current where-
2024), while the Solar disc may represent
abouts of its coffins, see, e.g., Amenta and
Guichard, 2017; Sousa et al., 2021). Nut’s role in the Solar cycle. Nut is held by
Shu, who also holds the determinative for the
Lot 6, which was gifted to what was then
word sky ( pt) on which rests a boat, prob-
the Russian Empire, arrived in Odessa in
1894. From there, the various artefacts, which ably the Solar Bark. The hieroglyphs between
included five coffins, were sent to museums Shu’s arms describe him as “the great god,
throughout Russia. Here, I will focus on the lord of the sky” ( nṯr ꜤꝪ nb pt). The
coffin set of the priestess Nesitaudjatakhet string of hieroglyphs on Shu’s right side
( nsy-t3-wḏ3t-3ḫt), whose titles reads: “Osiris, Foremost of the West, Neith”
included ‘mistress of the house’, ‘chantress of ( wsỉr ḫnt ỉmnt nỉt), while the hier-
Amun-Re’, and ‘musician of Mut’. Numbered oglyphs next to Geb’s head read “giving offer-
A.96 by Daressy (1907), the burial assemblage ings” ( dỉ ḥtp ḥrt3). It may be that
of Nesitaudjatakhet was divided between sev- both sets of hieroglyphs combine to form one
eral museums (Tarasenko, 2016; 2017; 2019). phrase, as a similar phrase invoking offerings
The outer coffin remained in Odessa (C107) for Neith appears as part of a longer inscrip-
but the inner coffin was sent to Kazan (C89). tion along the right side of the inner coffin
Her mummy board is thought to be kept in the
(Bolshakov, 2017: 193). On either side of Shu,
Ivan Kramskoi Museum of Fine Arts in Vor-
two falcons hold ankhs and was scepters.
onezh, while the rest of her burial assemblage
Geb, covered in green reeds, reclines at Nut’s
is spread throughout the world; her funerary
papyri are in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo feet. Next to Geb is a long, coiled snake, which
and her shabti box is in the collection of the St. may indicate Geb’s connection to snakes, as
Gallen Historisches und Völkerkundemuseum described in the Book of the Divine Cow. Sim-
in Switzerland. ilar snakes appear next to Geb in vignettes
C33, C67, C93, C117, and C118.
Bolshakov (2017) has published a com-
plete description of Nesitaudjatakhet’s inner Neith’s presence in this vignette, if only in
coffin, and a complete description of the outer hieroglyphic form, is intriguing, as it may be
coffin is in preparation (M. Tarasenko, pers. that Nut and Neith are being conflated. Al-
comm., 2024). The existing papers show that though the two Goddesses developed sepa-
both sets of coffins are adorned with Nut’s cos- rately (Neith as a Hunter/Warrior Goddess
mological vignette. The cosmological vignette known as ‘mistress of the bow’ and ‘ruler of ar-
on the inner coffin is unremarkable (Figure 1c). rows’, and Nut as the Goddess of the Sky),
Nut is naked and arched over Geb, who is cov- they both evolved to embody additional cosmo-
ered in reeds. One winged Solar disc is paint- logical, maternal, and eschatological roles (Hol-
~ 107 ~
Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

Figure 2: Nut’s cosmological vignette on the outer coffin of Nesitaudjatakhet in the collection of Odessa
Archaeological Museum OAM 52976 (C107). Nut’s body is covered in stars as well as a thick, undulating black
curve that runs from the soles of her feet to the tips of her fingers. This curve, surrounded by stars on both sides,
is reminiscent of the Milky Way’s Great Rift (courtesy: Photo by Mykola Tarasenko; © Odessa Archaeological
Museum).

lis, 2019: 7– 29; Sethe, 1906: 144–147; Wilkin- mological vignettes in my sample, Neith’s name
son, 2003: 156–159), and Nut and Neith also also appears above winged uraei in vignettes
often fulfill the same roles as the coffin and as C4, C19, C34, C71, and C110. In other vignet-
guardians of the deceased. Assmann (2005: tes, the winged uraei bear the names of Isis
165) provides an example of this conflation in and Nephthys, raising the possibility that Neith
the texts carved into the 19th Dynasty sarco- plays here the same guardian role attributed
phagus of King Merneptah, and I have seen to her in the Pyramid Texts along with Isis,
visual examples of such conflations in the cof- Nephthys, and Serket, as in spell 362:
fins in my sample (Figure 3). For example, Neith
My father! My father in the darkness!
is sometimes interposed instead of Nut as the
My father, Atum in the darkness! Fetch
kneeling goddess with outstretched wings on
me to your side, and I will light a lamp
coffin lids (as on the lid of Nesitaudjatakhet’s
for you and guard you like Nut’s guard-
inner coffin; Bolshakov, 2017: Figure 1); as the
principal standing figure inside the coffin (e.g., ing of those four serpent-goddesses on
the mummy cover of Mashasekebt, Egyptian the day they guarded the chair—Isis,
Museum in Cairo CG 6238; Niwiński, 1988: Nephthys, Neith, and She who Aspi-
Plate 15a); or as the Tree Goddess who nou- rates Throats. (Allen, 2015: 81).
rishes the deceased (e.g., Niwiński, 1995: Fig-
ure 14). Moreover, winged uraei bearing 3.1 A Visual Depiction of the Milky Way
Neith’s name are seen in various compositions The most peculiar feature of Nut’s cosmo-
on coffins, e.g., on the lids of certain coffins, logical vignette in Figure 2 is the undulating,
where a pair of winged Neith uraei flank an thick black curve that crosses her body from
image of a kneeling, winged Nut (e.g., Niwiń- the soles of her feet to the tips of her fingers.
ski, 1999: Plate 1.2, Plate 6.1). Among the cos- This curve runs down the middle of Nut’s body,
~ 108 ~
Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

Figure 3: Examples of conflation between Nut ( ) and Neith ( ) on (top) the coffin lid of
Djedkhonsouiouefânkh (courtesy: Louvre E10636; © 1980 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Maurice et
Pierre Chuzeville) and (bottom) the coffin of Khonsumes (courtesy: Museum Gustavianum VM 228).

with the stars painted in roughly equal number taudjatakhet; Bolshakov, 2017).
above and below it. This curve is not an artistic
Based solely on the visual aspects of the
technique to separate Nut’s legs from one an-
vignette, I offer two possible meanings for the
other, as that is achieved with a thinner curve
nature of this curve. The first is that it repre-
that is half obscured by the stars below the sents the division of the sky in two, as noted in
undulating curve. A similar thin curve also sep- the Pyramid Texts, e.g., in spell 274 (Allen,
arates Nut’s arms. To further accentuate the 2015: 55): “… both skies go around (in ser-
undulating curve, it is drawn in black, while the vice) for me and the two shores serve me.” or
thinner curves that separate Nut’s limbs are in spell 332 (Allen, 2015: 73): “… The two
drawn using the same red paint that is used to skies have gone to me, the two lands have
draw her outline. There is no written descrip- come to me. …” The second possibility is that
tion of this curve in the scene itself. A complete the undulating curve represents the Milky Way.
description of the outer coffin is needed to In this scenario, the undulating curve could be
ascertain whether such a description may be a representation of the Great Rift, the dark
found in the texts that surround the vignette, band of dust that cuts through the Milky Way’s
but this is unlikely; most of the texts that adorn bright band of diffuse light. A comparison with
yellow coffins are rote invocations for the pro- a photograph of the Milky Way (Figure 4) shows
tection of various deities (see, e.g., the trans- the stark similarity between the undulating
lations of the texts on the inner coffin of Nesi- curve running through Nut’s body and the un-

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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

Figure 4: The Milky Way over the sand dunes of the Egyptian Western Desert near El-Fayoum, taken on 5–7
August 2022 at 12:00 AM (total exposure: 1.2 hours). Note the similarity between the Great Rift and the
undulating black curve that bisects Nut’s body in Figure 2 (courtesy: © Osama Fathi).

dulating curve created by the dark nebulae mological vignettes: Nut is the entire sky, and
that make up the Great Rift. Together with all celestial phenomena—the Sun, the stars,
Nut’s arched form, the undulating curve accen- the Milky Way—are but markings on her body.
tuates the apparent similarity between Nut’s
depiction and the appearance of the Milky Way 3.2 The Undulating Curve in New Kingdom
in the night sky. Tomb Murals and a Link to the Winding
In one form or another, Nut is depicted on Waterway
312 (56%) of the coffin elements in my sample. Similar undulating curves appear in four tombs
Yet I have seen no other depiction of Nut that in the Valley of the Kings. In the tomb of Seti I
included a similar undulating curve, whether in (KV 17), the astronomical ceiling in burial cham-
her winged forms, full-length portraits, or cos- ber J is split into the northern sky, with de-
mological depictions. The rarity of this curve pictions of the circumpolar constellations, and
reinforces the conclusion reached by Graur the southern sky, with depictions of the plan-
(2024a): Nut and the Milky Way may be linked, ets, decans, and southern constellations. Each
but they are not one and the same. We should sky is bordered by two series of golden half
not think of the Milky Way as a representation circles arranged in such a way that a dark un-
of Nut. Instead, we should think of the Milky dulating curve takes form between them (Fig-
Way as one more astronomical phenomenon ure 5). A similar version of these borders ap-
that, like the stars and the Sun, are part of the pears in the tomb of Tausert and Setnakht (KV
sky and hence a part of Nut. Spell 69 of the 14) on the ceiling of burial chamber J1. In the
Book of the Dead notes (Faulkner, 1972: 70): tomb of Ramesses IV (KV 02), the ceiling of
“I am Orion who treads his land, who precedes burial chamber J is split between Fundamen-
the stars of the sky which are on the body of tals … and the Book of the Night. Both books
my mother Nut …” It is in this light that we include arched figures of Nut. These are dis-
should understand Nut’s depictions in the cos- played back-to-back and separated by a thick,
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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

Figure 5: The astronomical ceiling from the tomb of Seti I (KV 17). Note the undulating black curves between
rows of yellow half-circles that border the two halves of the ceiling (courtesy: Theban Mapping Project,
Photographer, Francis Dzikowski, May 2000).

golden undulating curve within two similarly col- Identifying these undulating curves as
ored straight lines. The ceiling of burial cham- depictions of the Milky Way also reopens the
ber J in the tomb of Ramesses IX (KV 06) also possibility that (mr-nḫ3), translated
features two images of Nut as part of the Books as “Winding Waterway,” “Winding Canal,” or
of the Day and the Night. Here, the two de- “Shifting Waterway” was the ancient Egyptian
pictions of Nut are separated by a zigzagging name for our Galaxy. This link was first suggest-
curve made up of several thin black lines. ed by Davis (1985) but countered by Krauss
The most important example of the undu- (1997: 63 –64), who argued for its identification
lating curve appears in the tomb of Ramesses with the ecliptic. Consider, however, the follow-
VI (KV 09). Here, the ceiling of burial chamber ing spells from the Pyramid Texts in the con-
J is split between the Book of the Day and the text of the appearance of the undulating curve
along Nut’s body.
Book of the Night (Figure 6). On each side, the
books are bordered by an arched depiction of The Nurse Lake is opened up, the
Nut, so that the two depictions of the goddess Winding Canal becomes inundated, the
appear back-to-back. In both depictions, Nut’s Fields of Reeds have filled, so that I
body is studded with stars. The Book of the Day might be truly ferried to that eastern
also includes multiple Sun discs that represent side of the sky, to the place where the
the Sun’s movement across the sky. Two un- gods are born, and I am born there in
dulating yellow curves separate the two repre- my birth with them as Horus, as him of
sentations of Nut. In each of the figures, the the Akhet.
undulating curve begins at the base of Nut’s PT 265 (Allen, 2015: 130).
hair, runs along (but above) her back, and So, you go away to the sky, for the
finally curves over her rear. The connection of paths of the (sky’s) arcs that ascend to
the curve to Nut’s hair and rear shows that it is Horus are swept for you. The mind of
directly connected to her and not a mere dec- Seth is fraternal toward you as the
orative border. Together, the appearances of great one of Heliopolis, when you have
the undulating curves described here reinforce traveled the Winding Canal in Nut’s
my suggestion that the curve bisecting Nut’s north as a star that crosses the Great
body in the cosmological vignette is the Milky Green that is under Nut’s belly. The
Way and that it splits the sky in two. Duat lays down your hand toward the
~ 111 ~
Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

Figure 6 (above): The Book of the Day from the On their own, these spells (and others not
tomb of Ramesses VI (KV 09). Note the undulating quoted here) do not provide conclusive evi-
yellow curve that runs above Nut’s back, from her dence for identifying the Winding Waterway
head to her rear. An identical curve runs along the with the Milky Way. However, once coupled
back of the second depiction of Nut in the Book of
the Night (courtesy: Theban Mapping Project, Pho-
with the winding appearance of the undulating
tographer, Francis Dzikowski, November 1999). curve and its connection to Nut, it becomes
possible to imagine the Galaxy’s Great Rift as
place where Orion is, the sky’s bull hav- the Winding Waterway along which the Sun and
ing given you his arm. the deceased king are ferried from west to east
PT 437 (Allen, 2015: 110). before both are reborn at dawn (as opposed to
the ecliptic, along which the planets move from
You go away to the sky on your metal east to west). This proposal is strengthened by
chair and cross the Winding Canal, the astronomical ceiling in the tomb of Seti I,
your face in the north of Nut. The Sun where the undulating curve, like the Milky Way,
calls for you from the sky’s zenith, and separates the two skies instead of appearing
you ascend to the god. solely in conjunction with the planets in the
PT 483 (Allen, 2015: 137). southern sky, as one would expect of the eclip-
I have gone up on Shu, I have climbed tic.
on the wing of Evolver. Nut is the one
who has received my arm, Nut is the 4 A CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
one who made a path for me. An examination of the ways in which the Milky
Greetings, you two falcons in the prow Way is visually depicted by other cultures
of that boat of the Sun, who sail the strengthens the identification of the undulating
Sun to the east! May you lift me and curve in Figures 2 and 6 with the Milky Way.
raise me up to the Winding Canal. Several authors (e.g., Berezkin, 2010; Graur,
When you put me among those im- 2024b; Krupp, 1991; 1995; Lebeuf, 1996) have
perishable gods and I make landfall noted that different cultures around the world
among them, I cannot perish, I cannot have conceptualized the Milky Way in similar
end. terms, even when those cultures were spatially
PT 624 (Allen, 2015: 241). and temporally disconnected. Many cultures,
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for example, view the Milky Way as a conduit roots of the four sacred plants: corn, tobacco,
between this life and the next. The Winding beans, and squash. Father Sky’s body is paint-
Waterway, which might be the Milky Way’s ed with the orbs of the Sun (yellow) and Moon
Egyptian name (see above), fulfills the same (grey), both of which are adorned with horns of
role, ferrying the deceased king across the sky power. Significant constellations cover Father
to the east, where he is reborn as one of the Sky’s body. These include the Milky Way (Yik-
imperishable stars. áísdáhá, lit. “that which awaits the dawn”; Mary-
Some cultures have conceptualized the boy and Begay, 2010: 55), which is drawn as
Milky Way as a deity or as a feature of a sky an undulating zigzag pattern across Father
deity. Graur (2024a: 37, Figure 5) compared Sky’s arms and shoulders. Similar depictions
Nut to the Mesoamerican Goddess Citlalicue. of the Milky Way as a zigzag pattern (drawn
Depicted as an elongated, star-studded being, straight, arched, or undulating) are found in
Citlalicue was known as the Goddess of the sand paintings of the night sky (e.g., Newcomb
Stars and the mother of several gods, among and Reichard, 1937: Plate 18) or sand paintings
them the major God Quetzalcoatl, who was that feature Black God (Háshjéshjin), a super-
associated with the planet Venus (Milbrath, natural being who plays a part in placing the
1988; 2013: 80n40). In Figures 7 and 8 I show constellations in the sky (e.g., Haile, 1947:
two more ways in which the Milky Way is de- Plate 8). The similarities between Nut’s cos-
picted by other cultures who, like the Meso- mological vignette and the sand painting of
american Tlaxacaltec people, have no connec- Mother Earth and Father Sky are immediately
tion to ancient Egypt. apparent; simply substitute Nut for Father Sky
and Geb for Mother Earth. In a similar vein,
Figure 7 shows a Navajo sandpainting (‘dry substitute the undulating curve drawn across
painting’ is a better term, as these paintings Nut with the undulating zigzag pattern drawn
are made of pollen as well as various types of
across Father Sky’s arms and shoulders.
sand) of Mother Earth (Sa’a Nagháí) and Father
Sky (Bik’e Hózhó). To contain the power of The Milky Way is also depicted as an un-
these beings, they are hemmed in by rain- dulating zigzag pattern on the face of Soong-
bows on either side. At the center of Mother wuqa, a Hopi katsina tihu (commonly referred
Earth’s body is a lake from which radiate the to as a ‘kachina doll’) that represents the Milky
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Figure 7: Navajo sand painting of Mother Earth (left) and Father Sky (right). The Milky Way is the zigzag
pattern running along Father Sky’s arms and shoulders (courtesy: Joe Ben, Jr; from the author’s
collection).

Figure 8 (Left): Soongwuqa, a Hopi katsina of the Milky Way. The Galaxy is represented by the blue and
yellow zigzag pattern running down Soongwuqa’s face (courtesy: Augustine Mowa III; from the author’s
collection). (Right): Kiaklo, a Zuni katsina. The Milky Way is the black-and-white checkered curve on top
of Kiaklo’s head (courtesy: Brooklyn Museum 03.325.4614; credit: Museum Expedition 1903, Museum
Collection Fund).
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Way katsina (Figure 8). For a description of between this world and the next (Graur,
the nature of the katsinam and their roles in 2024b).
Hopi ceremonials, see Secakuku (1995: 3 –4)
and Wright (1977: 1– 26). The exact nature of 5 TRENDS IN NUT’S DEPICTIONS ON
Soongwuqa and its role in Hopi cosmology is a ANCIENT EGYPTIAN COFFINS
subject of ongoing research (Graur, in prep.). While searching for the cosmological vignette
For the purpose of this paper, it is sufficient to and other depictions of Nut on Egyptian cof-
note that two independent Hopi carvers (Au- fins, I noticed two interesting trends that, along
gustine Mowa III and Sean Macias) have cre- with the Milky Way feature discussed in the
ated dolls of this katsina, and that both dolls previous sections, shed new light on the re-
feature the same face markings. The stars and lationship of the ancient Egyptians with the sky
crescent painted on the cheeks of the katsina and on the interplay between Nut’s cosmolog-
are seen on other katsina dolls, such as those ical and eschatological roles in the context of
of the Holokasinam (Secakuku, 1995: 48) or the coffin as a conduit to the afterlife.
Ho’tem families (Secakuku, 1995: 56). Similar-
ly, snake kilts are found on many other katsi- 5.1 A Preference for the Day Sky in the
nam. The feature that sets Soongwuqa apart Cosmological Vignette
from other katsinam is the colorful zigzag pat-
Among the 118 cosmological vignettes in Table
tern running down its face and across its snout.
2, Nut is covered in stars in only 28 elements
In Augustine Mowa III’s version (shown here)
(24%). If we assume that a naked Nut repre-
the zigzag pattern is colored blue, dashed white
sents the day sky and that a star-studded Nut
over a black background (which might repre- represents the night sky, then we would expect
sent the Great Rift), and yellow, while in Sean Nut to be covered in stars 50% of the time. To
Macias’s version (not shown here but available ascertain whether the number of star-studded
by request), the zigzags are colored red, green, depictions of Nut in Table 2 is consistent with
white, yellow, and red. It is this zigzag pattern this hypothesis, we can treat Nut’s depiction as
that defines Soongwuqa as the spirit of the we would a coin toss. The probability of a coin
Milky Way. toss resulting in either heads or tails is 50%,
Figure 8 also shows an example of Kiaklo, but if we were to toss a coin 118 times, the
a Zuni katsina (described by Bunzel, 1932: number of heads would not always equal the
980 –985, Plate 28). Here, the Milky Way is number of tails. In fact, if we conducted the
depicted as the black-and-white checked arc same experiment—flipping a coin 118 times—
across the top of the katsina’s head. Similar thousands of times, in 99.7% of those experi-
checked arcs representing the Milky Way were ments, the coin would land on heads 43 to 74
also documented on the faces of other Zuni times. If the coin landed on heads fewer than
katsinam: Łe’lacoktipona (Bunzel, 1932: 990– 43 times or more than 74 times in a given set
991, Plate 28) and Käna˙kwe Mosona (Bunzel, of 118 coin tosses, we would say that the null
1932: 1009 –1011, Plate 33). hypothesis—that this is a fair coin—could be
rejected at a statistical significance of 3σ. In
The Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni reside in
most of the sciences, this statistical signifi-
modern-day Arizona and New Mexico. While
cance is the threshold for rejecting an hypothe-
their cosmogonies, origin stories, and cere-
sis or declaring the detection of a new pheno-
monials are not identical, cultural diffusion has
menon. Seeing Nut covered in stars in only 28
resulted in certain shared elements (such as
of 118 vignettes is analogous to the coin com-
certain origin stories and the reverence of kat-
ing up heads 28 times or fewer in 118 tosses.
sinam; Graur, in prep.). Hence, it is not sur-
That is expected to happen in only 4.5 ×
prising to see similar patterns representing the
10 –7% of experiments (equivalent to a p-value
Milky Way on the bodies of important spiritual
of 4.5 × 10 –9). This highly unlikely scenario
beings. However, there is no known connec-
allows us to reject the null hypothesis that the
tion between these Native American nations
coin is fair—that the probability of finding Nut
and the ancient Egyptians. Hence, while the
depicted with or without stars is equal—at a
similarities between the Milky Way patterns on
statistical significance of >5σ (for comparison,
Father Sky, Soongwuqa, and Kiaklo and the
the Higgs boson was declared to have been
undulating curve across Nut’s body may be
discovered once it was detected with a stat-
coincidental, they may also stem from a shar-
istical significance of >5σ).
ed human imagination, the same imagination
that has caused cultures across the world and The same trend is seen in the cosmologi-
throughout history to time and again conceptu- cal vignettes in Table 3, in which Nut is cov-
alize the Milky Way in the same terms: as a ered in stars in only one of five examples
river, a road, a deity, an animal, or a conduit (C121; Figure 9). However, although this is
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Figure 9: In the cosmological vignette on the lid of the 25th Dynasty rectangular coffin of Tachepenkhonsou
(C121), Nut is colored blue and studded with stars (courtesy: Louvre E3913; © 2020 Musée du Louvre, Dist.
GrandPalaisRmn / Christian Décamps).

consistent with the fraction of star-studded vig- C31+C32, C89+C107), while in others she is
nettes in Table 2, the small size of the second decorated with stars on both the inner and out-
sample renders it statistically insignificant. er coffins (e.g., C5+C6, C16+C17, C27+C35,
An important caveat is that even though C44+C45, C84+C85).
the sample of cosmological vignettes assembl- I suggest two possible explanations for the
ed in Table 2 is complete in the sense that it scarcity of vignettes in which Nut is covered in
matches the catalogs assembled by Andrzej stars: either the stars are but a flourish with no
Niwiński and Agnes Klische, it is not complete deeper meaning, or the ancient Egyptians were
in the sense that it is not a subsample of all yel- exhibiting a marked preference for the day sky.
low coffins. An unknown fraction of 21st/22nd It will be interesting to see whether a thorough
Dynasty coffins has been lost or sold over the study of the full-length depictions of Nut inside
years (Niwiński, 2021), and it is possible that coffins from the 22nd Dynasty down to the Ro-
some of them were decorated with the cos- man era (see below) will uncover a similar frac-
mological vignette. There may also be more tion of figures covered in stars.
21st/22nd Dynasty coffins buried in unknown
tombs. Furthermore, as noted in Section 2.1, it 5.2 The Cosmological Vignette and Nut’s
is unclear whether or not Nut is covered in Full-Body Portrait
stars in certain vignettes. However, the size of
the current sample is large enough that, given Though the coffin sample in Table 1 is far from
the null hypothesis, Nut would have had to be complete (see Section 2), it is large enough to
covered in stars in at least 43 vignettes (see provide some insight into the evolution of Nut’s
above). One might quibble whether certain vig- depictions on coffins throughout Egyptian hist-
nettes in Table 2 include stars or not, but there ory. The earliest coffins in this sample originate
are only a handful of such examples, far fewer in the Old Kingdom (4th Dynasty), First Inter-
than the 15 needed to bridge the gap between mediate Period (9th –11th Dynasties), and the
28 and 43 vignettes. Middle Kingdom (12th Dynasty). These coffins
I find no discernible pattern among the cof- feature no visual depiction of Nut, although
fins that are adorned with a star-studded Nut they do include a written invocation for the Sky
or among those in which Nut is shown naked. Goddess to protect the deceased. Next come
Some coffin sets bear multiple depictions of coffins from the 18th Dynasty, which marks the
the cosmological vignette, but again, there is beginning of the New Kingdom. Though sev-
no pattern to how Nut is depicted on the inner eral deities are depicted on the sides of these
and outer coffins of those sets. In some cases, anthropoid coffins, Nut is not among them.
Nut is naked on both coffin elements (C40+ However, the lids of several of these coffins
C41, C60+C61, C101+C102+C103), in some are adorned with a vulture with outspread
she is naked in one element yet covered with wings. This is probably a depiction of the God-
stars in the other (e.g., C9+C10, C29+C30, dess Nekhbet, but could also be a depiction of
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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

Nut since, along with her anthropomorphic re- 273) and the 18th Dynasty coffin MM 13940 in
presentation, she is also represented at times the Medelhavsmuseet (Dodson, 2015: 10 –11).
as a cow, a sow, a hippopotamus, or a vulture Two interesting depictions of Nut appear in
(Billing, 2002: 13 –24). Instead of a vulture, the sarcophagi belonging to the 19th Dynasty King
coffin of Merymose (British Museum EA1001)
Merneptah (one in Burial chamber J of tomb
sports a figure of a kneeling woman with out-
KV 08 and the other usurped by the 21st Dy-
spread wings, who is identified as Nut. A sim-
nasty King Psusennes I; Egyptian Museum in
ilar description appears in the record of the
Cairo J87297). In both cases, Nut appears in
sarcophagus of Djehutymose (British Museum
relief on the interiors of the sarcophagi lids and
EA1642), but a photograph of this figure is not
she is portrayed face-on with arms raised above
available. Though not in my sample, coffin TT
1370, described by Bruyère (1937: Figure 10) her head. In the sarcophagus usurped by
as originating in the reign of Queen Hatshep- Psusennes I, Nut wears a long dress covered
sut of the 18th Dynasty, also bears a kneeling, in stars.
winged depiction of Nut. Full-length depictions of Nut continued to
Clear visual depictions of Nut as a kneel- appear inside coffins from the 21st, 22nd, 25th,
ing, winged goddess begin to appear in my 26th, and 30th Dynasties, as well as the Ptole-
sample on coffins from the 19th Dynasty. On maic and Roman periods (Figure 10). Most of
both the outer and inner coffins of Khonsu the time, Nut appears fully clothed (in a simple
(Metropolitan Museum of Art 86.1.1a, b and dress without stars), her head turned side-
86.1.2a, b) she is directly identified by her ways, and her arms either resting by her sides
or held up to shoulder height (as on the sarco-
name, , which appears next to her figure.
phagus made for Thutmose I). In some coffins,
The same named figure appears on the sar-
Nut appears twice, once with her arms lowered
cophagus lid of Setau (British Museum EA78),
and once with arms raised to shoulder height
and a similar, though nameless, figure appears
(e.g., Museo Egizio S. 5228). During the 21st
on the lid of the coffin of Weretwashet (Brook-
Dynasty, she is also winged, as in her kneeling
lyn Museum 37.47Ea–d). In my sample, this
form; these wings disappear in later dynasties.
popular depiction of Nut continues to appear
I regard the winged depictions of Nut inside
on coffins from the 21st, 25th, and 26th Dynas-
21st Dynasty coffins as a further invocation of
ties, as well as from the Ptolemaic and Ro-
Nut’s protection of the deceased.
man Periods. On some coffins, the kneeling,
winged depiction of Nut also appears on the The naked, star-studded version of Nut’s
exterior of the headboard (e.g., C102). Amu- full-body portrait is exceedingly rare during the
lets with this depiction have been found either 21st and early 22nd Dynasties. I know of only
sewn into or resting on mummy wrappings one example from the 21st Dynasty, on the
(e.g., British Museum EA66940, Metropolitan floorboard of the outer coffin of Tanetschedmut
Museum of Art 26.7.982a–c). This depiction is (Louvre N2594; Niwiński, 2023: 470; Niwiński
understood to be a visual invocation of spells and Rigault-Déon, 2024: 546). Although my
in which Nut is called upon to spread herself in sample of late 22nd Dynasty coffins is small, in
protection over the deceased, such as spells all 11 examples, Nut is painted identically: dres-
427, 588, and 593 from the Pyramid Texts, or sed in either a long skirt or dress; usually with
spell 181 from the Book of the Dead (Faulkner, heavy, bare breasts; and facing forward with
1972: 180): “… Your mother Nut has put her her arms raised to shoulder height. In the 25th
arms about you that she may protect you, and Dynasty coffins in my sample, Nut is clothed in
she will continually guard you …” a full-length dress, but her breasts are still ex-
posed. As in the 22nd Dynasty portraits, she
Depictions of Nut as a full-length standing
figure begin to appear on the interiors of cof- faces forward, but now her arms are raised
fins as early as the 18th Dynasty: a carved de- above her head to grasp the Sun. From the
piction of a clothed Nut with her arms raised to 26th Dynasty onwards, Nut’s portrait resembles
shoulder height appears inside the lid of the the one seen on the sarcophagus usurped by
coffin of Rai (Egyptian Museum in Cairo, CG Psusennes I from Merneptah: she is fully nak-
61004; Cooney, 2024: 141) and on the ex- ed, front-facing, and her arms are raised above
terior upper quarter of the lid of a sarcophagus her head. In many of these portraits, one or
originally made for Queen Hatshepsut but re- more Solar discs are painted along her body,
cut for her father, King Thutmose I (Brooklyn and she is either covered or surrounded by
MFA 04.278.1–2). Other examples include the stars (during the Ptolemaic and Roman per-
18th/19th Dynasty coffins of Setnakht and Ra- iods, the stars are accompanied by visual re-
messes III (Egyptian Museum in Cairo, CG 61039 presentations of Egyptian constellations and
and 61040, respectively; Cooney, 2024: 271, the Greek zodiac).
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Figure 10a: The evolution of Nut’s full-length portrait. From left to right: 19th Dynasty red granite sarcophagus of
King Merneptah, usurped by 21st Dynasty King Psusennes I (courtesy: Egyptian Museum in Cairo J87297; image
credit: CK-TravelPhotos/[Link]); 21st Dynasty inner coffin of Butehamon (courtesy: Museo Egizio
2237); 22nd Dynasty coffin of Tanetmit (courtesy: Louvre N2587; © 2004 Musée du Louvre / Georges Poncet);
25th Dynasty coffin of Tariri (courtesy: Museo Egizio 2220).

After the 21st Dynasty, the vignette in which earlier Tale of Sinuhe, in which the King pro-
Nut appears as the Goddess of the Sycamore mises Sinuhe “… a mummy case of gold, a
also evolves into a third version of her full- mask of lapis lazuli, a heaven over you …”
length portrait, in which she is painted with a (Parkinson, 1997: 36). Although Shu and Geb
fruit-bearing tree in the background. In some of are absent from Nut’s full-length portraits, her
these portraits, she is seen pouring water for outstretched arms and legs evoke her arched
ba birds on either side of her (e.g., Fitzwilliam form, painted to express the arched sky as it
Museum E.2.1869). would be viewed by the recumbent figure of
The evolution of Nut’s full-length portrait the deceased looking up at the sky. This is fur-
(Figure 10) may explain the popularity of the ther stressed in images where Nut’s hair seems
cosmological vignette on 21st/22nd Dynasty cof- to stand on end; it is really flowing down from
fins and its subsequent disappearance in later her bent head (as also seen in several of the
dynasties. I suggest that Nut’s full-length por- cosmological vignettes, e.g., Figure 1d). The
traits served two different purposes. The cloth- appearance of the Sun, stars, various constel-
ed version (including the sycamore variant) lations, or the zodiac stresses the cosmologi-
evoked Nut’s role as a guardian of the deceas- cal nature of these depictions.
ed. This is stressed in 18th and 21st Dynasties During the 21st Dynasty, the cosmological
versions where Nut is winged. On the other vignette made Nut’s cosmological full-length
hand, Nut’s naked, cosmological variant is a portrait redundant. This is seen numerically in
variation of Nut’s depiction in the Ramesside my sample, where Nut’s cosmological vignette
monumental versions of the Fundamentals ... appears on 118 (41%) of the 287 yellow coffins
It may even be a visual evocation of the even but her full-length portrait appears on only 17
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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

Figure 10b: The evolution of Nut’s full-length portrait (continued). From left to right: 26th Dynasty coffin of
Peftjaoeneith (courtesy: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden AMM5-e); 30th Dynasty sarcophagus of Tenthapi (courtesy:
Louvre E84; © 2006 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Georges Poncet); Ptolemaic-era coffin of
Hornedjitef (courtesy: British Museum EA6678; © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence); Roman-era
coffin of Soter (courtesy: British Museum EA6705; © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence).

(6%) of the coffins. Nine (53%) of the latter cof- fins displayed both guardian and cosmological
fins display both the cosmological vignette and portraits of Nut (e.g., Metropolitan Museum of
a full-length guardian portrait, perhaps reveal- Art O.C.22a, b; Medelhavsmuseet NME 007)
ing a special affinity for Nut among the makers or sycamore and cosmological portraits (e.g.,
or users of those coffins. Note that the fraction British Museum EA6705 and EA6706) shows
of cosmological vignettes among yellow coffins that Nut’s multiple eschatological and cosmo-
presented above is an overestimate, as the logical roles remained crucial to the functions
sample of coffins in Table 1 was assembled as of the coffin as a vehicle for the deceased’s
part of an explicit search for the cosmological transition to the afterlife. However, this obser-
vignette. However, the relative fraction of full- vation needs to be substantiated with a larger,
length portraits relative to cosmological vignet- unbiased sample of coffins.
tes is still of interest.
For whatever reason, later dynasties pre- 5.3 The Orientation of Nut’s Arms
ferred Nut’s cosmological full-length portrait A final note should be made about the orien-
over the cosmological vignette. Thus, while the tation of Nut’s arms in her cosmological full-
cosmological vignette with Nut, Shu, and Geb length portraits. As noted above, her arms are
all but disappeared after its heyday on the always shown stretched straight over her head.
sides of yellow coffins, Nut’s cosmological role This orientation clashes with two suggestions
in the transition of the deceased to the afterlife in the literature for how Nut’s body, which is
remained prominent. The fact that some cof- usually only studied in the two-dimensional de-
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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

pictions on the cosmological vignettes, should het. On this coffin, Nut is decorated not only
be reconstructed in three dimensions. with stars but also with a thick, black undu-
lating curve that bisects her entire body. This
One suggestion is that Nut’s arms and legs
curve resembles the Great Rift of the Milky
constituted the four cardinal points (e.g., Ni-
Way and is similar to depictions of the Milky
wiński, 2011). However, this spread-eagled
Way as undulating zigzag or checkered pat-
image of Nut clashes both with her full-length terns on the bodies of Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni
portraits and with her textual description in the spiritual beings. It is also similar to undulating
Fundamentals …, which describes Nut as (von curves seen bisecting the astronomical ceiling
Lieven, 2007): “Her rear is in the east, and her in the tomb of Seti I and along Nut’s back in
head is in the west” and “Her right arm is on the witnesses of the Books of the Day and the
the northwest side, [her left arm] is on the Night in the tombs of Ramesses IV, VI, and IX.
southeast side.” While this description rules Based on these similarities, I suggest that this
out the first suggestion, it forms the basis for undulating curve is the visual representation of
the second suggestion, made by Graur (2024a), the Milky Way, which the Egyptians saw as
that the description of Nut’s arms was seen as cleaving the sky in two. Moreover, it reopens
evidence for connecting Nut to the Milky Way, the possibility of (mr-nḫ3 – Winding
as the latter assumes the same Northwest– Waterway) being the ancient Egyptian name of
Southeast orientation in the Egyptian night sky our Galaxy.
during the winter.
The undulating curve provides a further
One cannot argue that the floorboard of link between Nut and the Milky Way, on top of
the coffin did not provide enough space to de- the textual link presented by Graur (2024a).
pict Nut’s arms with the orientation described However, the fact that this feature is observed
in the Fundamentals … While most of Nut’s in only one coffin further strengthens the sug-
full-length portraits are restricted to a single gestion first made by Graur (2024a) that, al-
plane, there are ample examples where Nut’s though the Milky Way may have been linked to
arms occupy both the floorboard and the inner Nut, the two were not synonymous with each
sides of the coffins. On 22nd Dynasty coffins, other. We should not think of the Milky Way as
for example, Nut’s arms seem to terminate at a representation of Nut but as one more as-
the elbows, but the rest of her arms, raised to tronomical phenomenon that, like the Sun and
shoulder height, are painted on either side of the stars, was part of the sky and thus could
the floorboard. Instead, it is possible that, just appear on Nut’s body.
as Nut’s full-length portrait evolved over time, Second, only a quarter of the cosmological
so did the Egyptians’ mental image of Nut. Our vignettes depict Nut as covered in stars. If we
oldest description—visual and textual—of Nut interpret Nut’s naked form as the day sky and
is found in the witness of the Fundamentals … her star-studded form as the night sky, the
in the 18th-Dynasty Cenotaph of Seti I. How- under-representation of the night sky may indi-
ever, von Lieven (2011) argues that the ephem- cate an inherent preference for the day sky. A
erides below Nut’s body date to the 12th Dy- thorough examination of funerary papyri and of
nasty and that the list of stars along her back Nut’s full-length portraits inside coffins is re-
may have originated in the earlier Old King- quired to test whether the under-represent-
dom. Thus, it is plausible that when the Fund- ation of starry depictions of Nut continued to
amentals … was originally composed, Nut’s manifest itself throughout ancient Egyptian his-
arms were imagined to orient along the arch of tory.
the Milky Way. But, by the time the Funda-
mentals … was inscribed in the Cenotaph of Third, while the cosmological vignette was
Seti I, her visual image had evolved away from already understood to be a continuation of
Nut’s depiction in the monumental versions of
the original (or at least preceding) image. This
the Fundamentals … found in tombs from pre-
new two-dimensional image was then given
ceding dynasties, I argue that it continued to
three-dimensional form in the full-length coffin
evolve after the 21st/22nd Dynasties, when it
portraits described above.
merged with the full-length portraits found in-
side many coffins all the way to the Roman
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
era. Nut’s cosmological portrait, which may
By collecting and analyzing examples of Nut’s have originated as early as the 19th Dynasty,
cosmological vignettes on yellow coffins from was briefly overshadowed in the 21st and early
the 21st and early 22nd Dynasties, I have come 22nd Dynasties by the cosmological vignette.
up with three new insights. First, I have high- Later dynasties saw the disappearance of the
lighted a unique feature of the cosmological cosmological vignette and the reappearance of
vignette on the outer coffin of Nesitaudjatak- the cosmological full-length portrait. T he mix-
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Or Graur The Milky Way and the Sky Goddess Nut

ture of guardian, sycamore, and cosmological catalogs with me. I also thank Osama Fathi for
versions of Nut’s full-length portrait stresses sharing his photographs of the Milky Way
the importance of her combined cosmological above Egypt. Several Egyptologists and cura-
and eschatological roles to the nature of the tors have provided me with images and helpful
coffin as a conduit to the afterlife. The orien- information about the coffins under their care:
tation of Nut’s arms in her cosmological por- Kerry Gnandt (The Cleveland Museum of Art),
traits rules out the suggestions that her arms Lisa Graves (Bristol Museum & Art Gallery),
and legs rested on the four cardinal points and Lisa Haney (Carnegie Museum of Natural
challenges the textual Northwest–Southeast History), Michaela Huettner (Kunsthistorisches
orientation of her arms in the Fundamentals ... Museum Wien), Marcin Karczewski (National
The latter may point to an evolving conception Museum of Warsaw), Alexandra Küffer (Swiss
of Nut’s three-dimensional form and her link to Coffin Project), Vincent Lecourt (Musée Dob-
the Milky Way. rée), Noémie Monbaron (Musée d’Art et
d’Histoire in Geneva), Annie Shanley (Michael
Finally, the catalogs assembled here un- C. Carlos Museum), Susanne Töpfer (Museo
derline the importance of fully digitizing mus- Egizio / U. Pisa), and Ludmila Werkström (Mus-
eum catalogs and providing free access to them eum Gustavianum). Finally, I thank The Trust-
through public-facing websites. I am deeply ees of the British Museum for permission to
grateful to those museums that have already use their images of the coffins of Hornedjitef
made their collections accessible in this man- (EA6678) and Soter (EA6705). These images
ner and I urge other museums (and the gov- are shared under a Creative Commons
ernments and private foundations that fund Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0
them) to create similar digital collections. The International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.
fire that gutted the Museu Nacional in Rio de
This research has made extensive use of
Janeiro in 2018 is a reminder that these efforts
the libraries of the University of Cambridge, Uni-
should be carried out sooner rather than later.
versity College London, the British Museum,
and the American Museum of Natural History,
7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS as well as the Internet Archive. It has also
I thank Mykola Tarasenko, Agnes Klische, An- made use of the JSesh open-source hiero-
drzej Niwiński, Sarah Symons, and the anon- glyphics editor (Rosmorduc, 2014). Support-
ymous referee for fruitful discussions and com- ing research data are available on reasonable
ments, as well as for sharing their data and cat- request from the corresponding author.

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Dr. Or Graur is an Associate Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology
and Gravitation. He is also an Honorary Associate Professor at University College London and a Research
Associate at the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Graur completed his PhD in Physics and Astronomy at
Tel Aviv University in 2013. Following his graduate studies, he worked with Professor Adam Riess at Johns
Hopkins University (2013 –2014) and Professor Maryam Modjaz at New York University (2014 – 2016). He then
won an independent NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship, which he took to the Center for
Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (2016 – 2020).
Or conducts observational studies of supernovae and tidal disruption events. His main
interest is figuring out the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae, which he pursues by
measuring supernova rates, studying correlations with host-galaxy properties, and using the
Hubble Space Telescope to observe nearby supernovae when they are hundreds of days
old. His group also studies the host galaxies of tidal disruption events and the connection
between these flares and rare extreme coronal-line emitting galaxies. He is also passionate
about education and public outreach: in 2016, he founded the Harvard Science Research
Mentoring Program, which sees early-career astronomers supervise high-school students in
year-long independent research projects. The program, which he directed between 2016
and 2019, is still in operation.
Since 2011, Or has authored >80 peer-reviewed papers on these subjects, as well as two popular-science
books: Supernova (2022, MIT Press) and Galaxies (2024, MIT Press). These books kindled an interest in the
history of astronomy and in cultural astronomy. The current paper is the second product of an ongoing project to
study the multicultural mythology of the Milky Way.

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