"Coff" It Up: the backstory on the mummy's coffin
Curious about the mummy’s coffin?
The spooky coffin featured in our soon to be released video trailer belongs to Bill Franzen, who famously provides the town of Ridgefield, CT with a magnificent backyard Halloween display every year. I happened across the mummy while cruising through his “Egyptian section” a few Halloweens back, and he cheerfully lent it to us for the video.
The design is based on the real King Tut’s coffin, or should I say “coffins.” Did you know that three nearly identical coffins nested together? The first two were made of gilded wood and the third coffin was solid gold. Each coffin featured Tut’s crossed arms holding the traditional “crook and flail,” symbols of kingship during the time of the Pharaohs.
Just over six feet tall, the pretend coffin mimics the height of the original inhabitant. Made of lightweight foam, the faux coffin comes in three sections, including the stand, making it easy to cart to video shoots or rodeos.
I did a little research on the pretend coffin, and discovered it was made by GAG, a company that produces life-like Halloween figures. A matter of GAG pride is the expressive eyes of its characters. Their Tut-like mummy rocks a regal contemplative stare.
When Lord Carnarvon’s team discovered the authentic King Tut’s tomb in 1922, his mummy was encased inside nine “nested” containers, beginning with a series of decorative gold shrines, then a stone sarcophagus, which in turn led to the three gold coffins and finally, King Tut’s mummy.
To find out more about King Tut’s tomb, check out this link:
http://albertis-window.com/2012/06/king-tut-nesting-shrines-a-sarcophagus-and-coffins/
