18. Mummy-Cover

Museum inventory number: 8521 Length: 167cm; Width: 39cm Wood, plaster, paint and varnish. Decorated with multicoloured paintwork. The reverse side of the object is undecorated. The ears, the earrings, the lappets of the wig and the hands are moulded in plaster. The object is preserved in relatively good condition. The painted decoration faded away in some points and several cracks can be detected, mainly on the right side of the upper section and around the hands. The lower edge collapsed and was restored in modern times by adding a piece of wood.1

Iconography

Headboard A multicoloured headband decorated with geometrical patterns adorns the tri- partite wig (black). A bunch of a lotus flowers hangs over the forehead (Fig. 192). The face is roughly carved and painted in yellow. The contour of the eyes and eyebrows is traced in black. The pupils (black) are painted against a white background. A red line is traced above the eye to suggest the eye-lid. The lips are outlined in red. The ears are moulded and the anatomical details are outlined in red. Oddly enough, a pair of round earrings are juxtaposed to the ears. They feature small rosettes. The lappets of the wig are adorned with binding bands decorated with a beaded motif.

Upper Section The breasts are painted, not moulded. They feature small rosettes to suggest the nipples (Fig. 192).

1 This advice is recorded by G. Botti in the entry of his Manuscript Catalogue of the Egyptian Museum of Florence. He confirms that the mummy-cover was restored in 1957, so we can conclude that even this piece was included among the objects restored between 1957 and 1958 and cited by Bosticco (see Bosticco 1958).

The hands are open, painted yellow and crossed over the chest. Against the usual practice, the hands are not carved in wood but entirely moulded in plaster. The arms are decorated with red lines suggesting linen stripes and each elbow features a large multicoloured lotus flower. The forearms display bracelets showing geometrical patterns (multicoloured). The area comprised between the lappets of the wig presents a short collar. The large floral collar displays three bands decorated with geometrical motifs (2nd and 3rd band) and persea-tree buds and lotus petals (1st band). The clasps of the collar feature a falcon head. On the chest lies a winged scarab holding up a solar disk flanked by cobras.

Central Panel The tableau displays two registers (Fig. 193). The first register shows a symmet- rical composition. The nuclear block features a winged scarab holding up a solar disk. The scarab is depicted as a pectoral hanging from a necklace hid- den under the floral collar. The centrifugal blocks include a mummiform Osiris squatting on a sacred standard. The god has a curled beard, grasps the royal scepters, and wears the hedjet-crown. Behind him, coiled cobras are depicted under the wings of the pectoral. Centripetal blocks complete the composition, featuring a winged coiled cobra (identified as Neith) hanging from the upper corner of the composition. The cobra outstretches its wings towards the udjat-eye. The second register displays a large winged goddess squatted on the nebu- sign (multicoloured) outstretching her wings towards both sides and grasping feathers. Under each wing figure a coiled cobra and the udjat-eye (centrifugally oriented).

Lower Section This area is divided into two longitudinal partitions by a double column of hieroglyphs (Inscriptions 1–2). Each partition is divided into four registers by transversal bands of inscriptions (Inscriptions 3–10). Each vignette depicts a deity (centrifugally oriented) under a vaulted ceiling (Fig. 194). In the first register a mummiform god is seated on a hwt-throne resting on a heb-bowl. The god has a curled beard, grasps the royal scepters, and wears the hedjet-crown and a beaded shirt. A lettuce vase stands at his feet. The winged udjat-eye with a pending cobra carrying the ankh-sign faces the enthroned god. In the second register the avian form of Ptah-Sokar rests on a divine standard with a feather at his feet. The avian god wears the atef-crown and the menat-