This artwork is a faithful reproduction of a scene featuring the goddess Isis, taken from the foot of the innermost gold coffin of Tutankhamun, dating to around 1324 BC, during Egypt’s 18th Dynasty. The original image appears on one of the most iconic artefacts ever discovered: a solid gold coffin shaped like Osiris, god of the afterlife, which once held the mummy of the king.

In the scene, Isis kneels at the base of the coffin, offering divine protection and guiding the king safely through the journey into the afterlife. She was believed to perform this same role for her husband, Osiris, whom she resurrected after his murder at the hands of his brother, Seth. As the divine mother of Horus, and by extension the reigning king, she represents both mourning and magical rebirth - a powerful protector of the dead.

Isis wears a sheer, tight-fitting linen dress which accentuates her form, a beaded floral collar, and gold jewellery. Her black wig is secured with a headband, and on top of her head sits the throne hieroglyph, the sign that represents her name in ancient Egyptian writing. She stands upon the 'nebu' sign, a hieroglyph meaning gold, formed from a collar of beads. Gold was no ordinary metal in ancient Egypt: it was considered indestructible, symbolic of the sun’s brilliance, and thought to be the flesh of the gods.

The image depicted here comes from the innermost of three nested coffins discovered inside Tutankhamun’s burial chamber in the Valley of the Kings. This particular coffin, crafted from over 110 kilograms of solid gold, is now housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Its form mirrors the shape of Osiris, with the king's body shown grasping the heka sceptre and flail, traditional emblems of divine kingship. Both inside and out, the coffin is intricately decorated with incised texts and protective spells, linking Tutankhamun to the gods and ensuring his eternal life.