The protection of deified kings could be sought even after a person’s death. The temple doorkeeper Ahmose highlighted his close association with an unidentified deified king through the royal image decorating the bottom of his coffin. Ahmose’s mummified body would have been laid directly over the image of the pharaoh, stressing his desire to be linked to the king and to share his success in reaching eternal life.
Coffin base belonging to temple doorkeeper Ahmose early 22nd Dynasty, about 900 BCE, Egypt, Thebes © The Trustees of the British Museum
