Le cercueil de Padikhonsou au musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (XXIe dynastie)

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The Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon features coffin H 2320 and mummy cover H 2321 belonging to Padikhonsu, a pure priest, lector priest, and embalmer. This unpublished artifact, crafted from local woods such as Ficus sycomorus L. and tamarisk, showcases a unique decoration distinct from contemporary pieces. The lid has a white background with sparse features, while the box is painted yellow. The inner lid decoration includes a frieze from Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead, alongside a long hieroglyphic inscription with two mortuary formulae and Chapter 1 of the Book of the Dead. The inside of the mummy cover features extracts from the 10th and 11th hours of the Book of Amduat. Stylistic, iconographic, and palaeographic analyses suggest this funerary equipment dates to the end of the 21st Dynasty, likely during Pinedjem II's reign (990–969 BC). The yellow background of the external box aligns with Theban coffin characteristics from this period, indicating its probable origin in Thebes. The book provides a comprehensive iconographic, textual, and technical study of the coffin and its cover, situating them within their historical context by examining the name, titles, and social status of their owner under the High Priests of Amun. A wood analysis was conducted by Victoria Asensi Amoros, an expert in wood micrography. The text is presented in French.