The Mummy Case Of Pankhenamun

The work I chose to analyze was from a wall fragment from the tomb of Ameneemhet and wife Hemet called Mummy Case of Paankhenamun, found in the Art Institute of Chicago. The case of the Mummy Paankhenamun is one of the most exquisite pieces of art produced by the Egyptian people during the time before Christ. This coffin belonged to a man named Paankhenamun, which translates to “He Lives for Amun” (Hornblower & Spawforth 74). Paankhenamun was the doorkeeper of the temple of the god Amun, a position he inherited from his father.

The body will now be covered and stuffed with natron to dry it out. All of the rags and fluids that were used in the process are buried with the body. After forty more days, the body is then washed again and covered in oils to keep the skin elastic. The organs that are dehydrated are wrapped in linen then returned to

In contrast to the mummification process that the female lead actress described in the film where the heart is taken out. Ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the “center of reason and emotion” (Ryan, n.d.). The heart said to be the core and soul of the deceased would be essential in the afterlife as the god of embalming and the afterlife, Anubis, would weigh one’s heart on a scale with a feather and only if the heart was as light as the feather or lighter, would the soul be allowed to enter the afterlife. It was believed that by mummifying the body, the soul of the deceased would be able to stay immortal. However, Imhotep, who shared an adulterous affair with Seti I’s wife, Anck-Sun-Amun, and later killed the pharaoh, would not have been mummified alive like portrayed in the film as mummification in ancient Egypt was a privilege reserved for royalty and the rich. According to the law during New Kingdom Egypt, Imhotep would have been executed for his crimes, and if the Great Kenbet, the ancient Egyptian judicial system deemed fit, Imhotep’s punishments could also extend to the family. Also, Anck-Sun-Amun who committed suicide in order to allow Imhotep time to escape, would not have been mummified due to her adulterous

They believed that the gods punished them with floods and or famine. Their pessimistic outlook on life made them have bad premonitions towards their afterlife. They believed that at death that they were going to descend forever into a dark underworld, a huge cave filled with nothing but dust and silence. They tried to enjoy life as much as they could but did not look forward to the afterlife. Death was not the paradise that the Egyptians believed in. It was considered eternal hell. (Hause, 2001, pg. 10)

Anthropologists can generally conclude that ancient Egyptians strove for immortality and that their beliefs of transcendence were extremely important to them, given burial sites, tomb art, and various extensive ancient texts. Pyramid texts illustrate deliberate assurance to the deceased that physical death was solely an illusion, thereby insinuating that the actual death

The Egyptians believed very much in life after death. As Taylor states in Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, “It is often observed that they appear to have devoted greater efforts and resources to preparing for the afterlife than to creating a convenient environment for living” (Taylor, 2001:12). The Egyptians viewed life on earth as one stage and death as the beginning of another. They believed that, “human existence did not end with death and that survival of the body played a part in the new life” (Taylor, 2001:12). One of the key elements in the Egyptian culture and religion was the preservation of the body. The body was the most important aspect because it was like a portal through which an individual could continue to live

Funerary customs are practises and beliefs that the Ancient Egyptians used to respect their dead, and preserve their bodies in preparation for the afterlife which was a universe that mirrored their life on Earth, where they would live with the Gods in eternal Egypt. The body of the deceased could be mummified, which was where a body is dried, packed with minerals and wrapped in linen cloths, whereas another form would be embalming which is the use of salts and spices to preserve a body and took 70 days in total. However, there were many tests and dangers on the way to the afterlife, including fire-filled lakes, poisonous snakes and executioners. Because of this, there were many ceremonies and tests to see if the deceased person was worthy of the Afterlife. Such as the opening of the mouth ceremony which was when a priest touched parts of the deceased body at a funeral in order for the

The mummification process is done in two phases, the first being embalming and the latter being wrapping and burial. There was a special place for embalming to take place known as the ibu. The ibu was called the place of purification. The first thing the embalmers do is to clean his body with aromatic palm wine and rinse it with Nile water. The next step involves removing all but a select few of the internal organs. The process used to remove the internal organs changed over time and varied with the wealth of the body in question. The heart was left in the body because of its necessity as the focal point of mental and emotional stability. The body’s fluids and rags used in this phase are left with the body for its burial. The body is left for a period of

The Egyptian during this time used the coffin to house the dead person’s body, as it was believed that only after

The Egyptian Mummy Mask from the early Roman Period is unique and beautiful in every way possible. This mask that is on display in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston is about 3 feet tall to about 2 feet wide. This certain piece of magnificent art is extremely detailed with intricate designs covering it all around. The Museum of Fine Arts makes it easy to pay attention to, because of its detail and how the mask is displayed. The Mummy Mask has it’s own small alter with a spot light shining down on it creating dramatic shadows in a very dim room. The decorations include inlaid glass eyes, a gold leaf and is hand-painted and gilded glass. This mask is not paper maché like the masks that were made in this era; this Mummy Mask had been created out of cartonnage . The Egyptians decorated this masterpiece with bold vertical and horizontal lines representing rows of beads to go along with the story it tells. The Egyptian Mummy Mask from the first half of the first century A.D illustrates a gaze of innocence and acceptance while looking into the bright future of whom the mask was made for. Perfectly painted images covering the mask tell a story of the traditional funerary practices and the after life Egyptians believed in. Egyptians would create these pieces to fit over the heads of the lost lives wrapped inside the mummy. The mask represents the deceased transformed into a God . Although the face of the mask is idealized and emotionless, the decorations say and express more than a

Ancient Egypt is one of the most well-known ancient civilisations and has an extremely deep history. Tutankhamun’s Death Mask is one of the most famous artefacts from ancient Egypt. This artefact was discovered by Howard Carter in early November of 1922, although it was not dug up until the 26th of November 1922. To a vital extent, the discovery of Tutankhamun’s Death Mask has improved modern understanding of ancient Egypt. The context, purpose and significance of Tutankhamun’s death Mask are strong points to understanding ancient Egypt.

In ancient Egypt when somebody died their vital organs were removed; the lungs, liver, stomach, and the intestines. They were then placed into four Canopic jars with different creatures, who were the sons of Horus, for the lids; a human, a jackal, a baboon, and a falcon. The Human jar is Imsenti and holds liver, the jackal is Duamutef and holds stomach, the baboon is Hapi and holds the lungs and the Falcon is Qebehsenuef and holds the intestines. The Ancient Egyptians believed these organs to be sacred therefore these 4 creature were supposed to protect them. Then, the bodies were filled with spices, oils, grasses, and sawdust, place in a tub of salt then covered for 70 days.

Over 70 days, experienced embalmers worked with the corpse to preserve it. First, the internal organs, except for the heart, were removed before embalmers covered the body with natron, a type of salt, to draw out the moisture. The dried body was then wrapped in hundreds of yards of linen, with warm resin applied between layers, along with amulets and written

Fact 3: After about forty or fifty days they took the body out of the natron and replaced the old stuffing with new stuffing. Then they would wrap the body in linen and some special oils were put on the body to help preserve it.

form of a bird usually a falcon and fly around in the world of the living