Mummy cover of Penmaät
Plastered, painted and varnished wood
Third Intermediate Period, 22nd Dynasty, probably Osorkon I (c. 924-890 B.C.)
West Thebes

The mummy cover of the "divine father of Amun-Re, author of the treasure of the temple of Amun", Penmaät, is a true masterpiece of the funerary art of the Third Intermediate Period. The collar with several rows of beads and lotus flowers is very delicately crafted. Beneath it, there are sixteen columns with inscriptions: they consist of sacrificial formulae addressed to the gods and in honour of Penmaät and his father, Nespaherentihat.
The hieroglyphic inscriptions are executed as true miniatures. The colours were carefully chosen in function of their symbolism. For example, Anubis or the hieroglyph of water are painted in black, the colour of the Hereafter, but also of the Nile silt, the source of fertility and rebirth. The symbol of the placenta is green, colour of growth and birth. The wings of the birds are blue as an allusion to the sky. Red, associated with the burning heat of the sun, is also commonly associated with notions of danger or suffering. Thus the sparrow, considered a harmful creature, is painted in red...

The text on the mummy cover of Penmaät has a striking feature. In the sacrificial formulae, the names of the gods are written in the opposite direction to the rest of the text. Thanks to this graphic trick, the gods are facing the deceased who, according to the text, is presenting them with offerings, in the same way that gods and humans face each other in cult scenes in temples.