Coffin and Mummy of Paankhenamun Research Paper

Coffin and Mummy of Paankhenamun - Research Paper Example The illustration of the mummy of Paankhenamun is superb pieces of craft made by Egyptians artists during the period before Christ. It is avidly painted coffin of a deceased man named Paankhenamun, the gatekeeper of the temple of the Amun god. Therefore, the artwork reveals the way ancient Egyptians for ritualistic culmination functions and their beliefs of life after death. The mummy case is a wall piece of art resulting from the third, middle period, which is a decentralized period and fragmented end of the Egyptian bureaucracy. The artwork was done for a specific patron. The work was performed to reconstruct the cultural beliefs of the early Egyptians. Therefore, the artwork was meant for a certain person known as Paankhenamun who was the gatekeeper of the temple of the Amun god, thus his name meant that he lived for the Amun (Maria and Clarke 121). The art works is museum collection of artistic features placed in the institute or art, in Chicago. The artwork is a representation fo r the coffin for Paankhenamun; thus, the artwork provides a complex picture of mummification and the existence of the goddess of ancient Egyptians as indicated in figure 1. The case is significant because it reveals the way the ancient people view certain subjects. The ancient Egyptian culture believed that there was a life power, and the spirit existed inside the deceased. Therefore, they performed mummification as a ritual process of preserving the physical features of the deceased person in order to enable the body to dwell in the eternal life. The funeral psychology of the ancient Egyptian culture is that the death did not mean the end of life of an individual. However, it was an escape from the physical, human life and a gateway to everlasting being. Many ancient people believed that their life span was short; thus, they believed in life after death where they would be with their gods. Therefore, the mummification method enabled them to maintain the goddesses and royalty. The p reservation method was to enable the deceased to come back to life. Interestingly, the X-rays revealed that the case of the mummy of Paankhenamun contains mummy inside that dates from the 945 to715 B.C (Maria and Clarke 79). The function of the artwork of the mummy case was for ritualistic culmination functions. The coffin was used in the funeral feast and offering scene thus the decorative relief work of the coffin played significant roles to the ancient Egyptians. The entire decoration process of the coffin and the decorative features included in the surrounding walls reveals the celebration of life after death with his family members. The kinsmen delight in the soul nourishment and they give their sacrifices to the gods in favor of the departed. For instance, the inscription that cuts across the perimeter of the scene is significant. This is because it is an offering formula or way through, which the Egyptians perform the funerary feast in different ways. Moreover, the painted sc ene plays a significant role of primarily prayer representation. When focusing on the paintings, one will encounter various inscription represented on the offering table and scattered all over the room. The top of the table has slices of bread on top of it is a monumental leg of an ox (James, Mancoff, Kozitka, and Steinmann 122). There are bottles of beer on the side of the table and some geese; thus, they all represent the funeral offerings meant to appease the