Nut was the sky goddess and the wife of the earth god, Geb.  She gave birth to Osiris, Isis, Nepthys, and Seth.  She is often depicted as a giant arching nude woman or cow, covered with a field of white stars against blue sky.  In other cases, she is designated by the water pot symbol above her head.  In funerary tradition, she was often depicted on sarcophagi in a manner similar to a winged Isis--with a sun disk on her head.  The water pot drawn within the sun disk on the winged figure on Tutu's breastplate clearly designates her to be Nut.  The ancient Egyptians believed that Nut welcomed the newly deceased, providing them food and drink to strengthen them for their journey through the underworld.  Because she gave birth the sun and moon every morning and night, Nut is also associated with the ideas of rebirth important in the Egyptian's cyclical view of the after life.

 

On funerary sarcophagi, Nut is often depicted holding the feather(s) of Maat.  Daughter of Ra, Maat is the goddess of justice and universal harmony.  It is against the feather of Maat that all hearts are weighed in the after life.  If a heart is guilty and weighs more than the feather, the deceased is condemned and devoured by the beast Ammit.