Art Institute of Chicago

Coffin and Mummy of Paankhaenamun

Egyptian; Thebes (now Luxor), Egypt

Date

Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22, reign of Osorkon I (about 924–889 BCE)

Medium

Cartonnage, gold leaf, pigment, and mummified human remains

Culture

Thebes

Department

Arts of Africa

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Mummification is the ancient Egyptian funerary practice of drying out a corpse for preservation. Anointed with oils and spices and protected with amulets, this linen-wrapped body was placed in a series of nesting coffins; the vividly painted cartonnage was the innermost shell. Across the surface of the mummy case, inscriptions and painted scenes and symbols identify the deceased—Paankhaenamun—and proclaim his wish to live well in the afterlife. Another inscription records that he was the doorkeeper of the temple of Amun. The names and titles on the coffin suggest that he lived at Thebes. The central scene depicts the presentation of the deceased by the falcon-headed deity Horus to Osiris, the ruler of eternity (shown, as was common, as a mummy). Other divinities help the deceased in his journey to the afterlife. Despite the youthful features of the gilt face, X-rays reveal that Paankhaenamun was middle-aged.

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