Gilded Coffin of Tjuya in on display in the 'Death Burial and The Afterlife' room of the exhibition.
Photo Credit © Andreas F., Voegelin, Antikenmuseum, Basel and Sammlung Ludwig
Tjuya's immense coffin, almost seven foot long, is gilded with red gold and inlaid with obsidian, alabaster and Egyptian blue (glass). The coffin comes from the tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu (KV46), believed to be grandparents of Tutankhamun, and was uncovered by Theodore Davis in 1905 (as do many of the artifacts in this exhibition room). Davis' discoveries were considered unmatched until Carter unearthed Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.
Also displayed in the exhibition is Tjuya's Funerary Mask, made of gilded wood and similarly inlaid with obsidian and glass – it was supposed to preserve her features for eternity.
Amongst the discoveries in Tutankhamun's tomb was a lock of hair encased in a small coffin, believed to be from his grandmother Tjuya.