Le Cercueil Et La Couverture de Momie de Padikhonsou Au Temps Des Rois-Pretres: (Lyon, Musee Des Beaux-Arts, H 2320 - H 2321)

The Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon houses coffin H 2320 and its mummy cover H 2321 belonging to the pure priest, lector priest and embalmer Padikhonsu. The decoration of this unpublished material of unknown origin, made from traditional local woods (Ficus sycomorus L. and tamarisk), differs from contemporary creations. Indeed, the external decoration of the lid has a white background with a low density of features, whereas the box is painted in yellow. Furthermore, the inner decoration of the lid shows a frieze extracted from Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead combined with a long hieroglyphic inscription, including two mortuary formulae and Chapter 1 of the Book of the Dead. The inside of the mummy cover is mainly illustrated with extracts from the 10th and 11th hours of the Book of Amduat. Ultimately, stylistic, iconographic and palaeographic criteria suggest a dating of this funerary equipment at the end of the 21st Dynasty, and it is even likely that it was produced during the pontificate of Pinedjem II (990-969 BC). Yet, as the yellow background of the external box represents an essential characteristic of Theban coffins from the 21st Dynasty, this coffin most probably comes from Thebes. The book contains a complete iconographic, textual and technical study of this coffin and its mummy cover and tries to replace it in its historical context by focusing on the name, the titles and the social status of its owner under the government of the High Priests of Amun. A wood analysis was conducted by Victoria Asensi Amoros, expert micrograph of wood (UPMC-Paris VI).