Mummy Case and Mummy of Paankhenamun, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22 (c. 945-715 B.C.)
Cartonnage (gum, linen, and papyrus), gold leaf and pigment; human remains
170.2 x 43.2 x 31.7 cm (67 x 17 x 12 1/2 in.)
The hieroglyphic text above Horus reads:
A royal offering of Osiris, presider over the West, the great god, lord of Abydos, Wennofer, ruler of Eternity. Utterance by Horus, the son of Osiris, the great god, lord of the sky; may he give a mortuary offering of food and viands, oxen and geese, incense, clothing and every good and pure thing for Osiris, the doorkeeper of the estate of Amun, Paankhenamun, deceased, son of Ainka, the doorkeeper of the estate of Amun, deceased, son of Ankhefenkhonsu.
William M. Willner Fund, 1910.238
Ancient Egyptian beliefs in the afterlife gave rise to the complex art and science of mummification. This vividly painted Mummy Case was the innermost of a series of shells that housed the body of a deceased person. The hieroglyphic inscriptions and painted scenes identify this mummy as Paankhenamun, a doorkeeper in the temple of the god Amun. The central scene shows the hawk-headed god Horus presenting Paankhenamun to Osiris, ruler of the afterlife.
Exhibition, Publication and Ownership Histories
Exhibition History
Periodic exhibition from 1911-1994; Henry Crown Gallery in 1960s - 1970s.
Egyptian Gallery # 9 and 10, circa 1923.
Egyptian Gallery # 10, circa 1935.
Egyptian Gallery # 1, circa 1956.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Rubloff 154A, 1994 - present.