Hidden inside the outer coffin are images of the gods and goddesses of the underworld, painted there to protect Ta-Kheru in her death and sustain her in the afterlife.

The falcon-headed god Ptah-Sokar-Osiris is on the base of the coffin underneath Ta-Kheru. He is in the form of a mummy, and is wearing a network of faience beads like those on Ta-Kheru’s mummified body. Isis and Nephthys, goddesses protecting the dead, stand on the inner sides of the coffin wearing long red robes.

The red disc of the sun lies above Ta-Kheru’s head and below her feet. The sun is linked to re-birth, appearing in the underworld every night to re-animate the dead. It is also a representation of the god Horus Behedety, one of the oldest gods of ancient Egypt.  

Amun, the patron god of Thebes, is not shown on the coffin. This is because he is the god of life, ruling over the living world. The god of the afterlife is Osiris, here shown in his combination with the creator god Ptah and the god of the dead from Memphis called Sokar. 

According to Ancient Egyptian beliefs about the judgement of the soul after death, if Ta-Kheru was proclaimed innocent by the gods judging the dead then she would be united with Osiris. Rituals for Osiris and for Ta-Kheru, performed by relatives and by the gods and goddesses shown on the coffin, would guarantee the eternal life of the god and the deceased.

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