Art Institute of Chicago

Coffin and Mummy of Pa-ankh-en-Amun

Ancient Egyptian

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

Attribution

Egyptian; Thebes (modern Luxor), Egypt

Medium

Cartonnage, gold leaf, pigment, and mummified human remains

Physical dimensions

170.2 × 43.2 × 31.7 cm (67 × 17 × 12 1/2 in.)

Credit line

W. Moses Willner Fund

From the museum

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— Paankhenamun (The One Who Lives for Amun)—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 Paankhenamun was middle-aged.

Description: Art Institute of Chicago · CC BY 4.0