View source for Neskhons

{{Short description|Ancient Egyptian noble lady, wife of Pinedjem II}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Neskhons
| image        = Petrie Museum painted wooden stele of Neskhons.jpg
| caption      = Funerary stela depicting Neskhons with Osiris.
| spouse       = [[Pinedjem II]]
| issue        = [[Nesitanebetashru]] and 3 others
| father       = [[Smendes II]]
}}

'''Neskhons''' (“She Belongs to [[Khonsu|Khons]]”), once more commonly known as '''Nsikhonsou''', was a noble lady of the [[Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt|21st Dynasty of Egypt]].

==Biography==
{{hiero|Neskhons|<hiero>ns:z-x:n-sw</hiero>|align=left|era=3ip}}
She was the daughter of [[Smendes II]] and Takhentdjehuti,<ref>{{dodson}}, pp.200-201</ref> and wed her paternal [[uncle]], High Priest [[Pinedjem II]], by whom she had four children: two sons, Tjanefer and Masaharta, and two daughters, Itawy and [[Nesitanebetashru]]. These are named on a decree written on a wooden stela, which was placed in her tomb in order to ensure her well-being in the afterlife and to prevent her doing harm to her husband and children. This suggests family problems around the time of her death.<ref name="D207">Dodson & Hilton, p.207</ref>

[[File:CanopicJarsOfNeskhons-BritishMuseum-August21-08.jpg|thumb|200px|Canopic jars of Neskhons in the [[British Museum]].]]
She predeceased her husband and her mummified corpse was placed with that of Pinedjem II in [[DB320|Tomb DB320]] in the [[Theban Necropolis]], in which it was rediscovered in [[1881 in archaeology|1881]]. She was buried in the 5th regnal year of [[Siamun]] in coffins that were originally made for Pinedjem's sister and first wife [[Isetemkheb D]]. Both the inner and outer coffins were found, but one of them was reused for the reburial of [[Ramesses IX]]. It is unknown whether her coffin was reused after her death or that she donated it to the reburial of Ramesses. The later theory is supported by the fact that she also donated linens for the rewrapping of his mummy; the former is indicated by the fact that apparently no attempt has been made to redecorate the coffin for a male mummy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://anubis4_2000.tripod.com/mummypages1/DB320Coffins/NeskhonsCoffin.htm|title=Neskhons Coffin|website=anubis4_2000.tripod.com|access-date=2018-02-26}}</ref>

==Mummy==
[[File:Mummy Neskhons Smith 03.JPG|thumb|left|Mummy of Neskhons]]

The corpse was partially unwrapped by [[Gaston Maspero]] on 27 June 1886; twenty years later, [[G. Elliot Smith]] removed the remainder of the wrappings.<ref>Smith, G. Elliot; “61095. The Mummy of Queen Nsikhonsou”, ''The Royal Mummies: Catalogue Général des Antiquités Égyptiennes du Musée de Caire'' (1912).</ref> Neskhons did not have any gray hairs, so it is likely that she died young; according to Smith, she was either pregnant or giving birth at her death. The gold decoration of her coffin has been stolen in antiquity; her heart scarab was stolen by the Abd-el-Rassul family of grave robbers, but has been recovered and taken to the [[British Museum]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://anubis4_2000.tripod.com/mummypages1/21B.htm|title=View 21'st Dynasty Theban Royal Mummies from DB320|website=anubis4_2000.tripod.com|access-date=2018-02-26}}</ref>

Her titles were: ''First Chantress of Amun; King's Son of Kush.''<ref name="D207" />
[[File:Coffin of Nesykhonsu, about 976-889 BC, Thebes, Third Intermediate Period, late Dynasty 21 to early Dynasty 22, gessoed and painted sycamore fig - Cleveland Museum of Art - DSC08773.JPG|thumb|right|Neskhons' darcophagus at the [[Cleveland Museum of Art]].]]

{{Commons category|Neskhons}}

== References ==
<references />

==Further reading==
* Battiscombe Gunn, The Decree of Amonrasonther for Neskhons, [[Journal of Egyptian Archaeology|JEA]] 41 (1955), 83-95
* Andrzej Niwiński, The Wives of Pinudjem II -a topic for discussion, [[Journal of Egyptian Archaeology|JEA]] 74 (1988), 226-230



{{DEFAULTSORT:Neskhons}}
[[Category:Ancient Egyptian mummies]]
[[Category:People of the Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt]]
[[Category:10th-century BC women]]
[[Category:Viceroys of Kush]]