Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History


    • Section from the "Book of the Dead" of Nany, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21, reigns of Psensennes I–II, ca. 1040–945 b.c.
    Egyptian; Western Thebes
    Painted and inscribed papyrus; H. of illustrated section 13 3/4 in. (34.9 cm)
    Rogers Fund, 1930 (30.3.31)

    Archaeologists found this papyrus in the burial of Nany, a woman in her seventies. She was a chantress (ritual singer) of the god Amun-Re and is referred to as "king's daughter," probably meaning she was the daughter of Painedjem I, high priest of Amun and titular king. As was customary during the Third Intermediate Period, her coffin and boxes of shawabtis (servant figures) were accompanied by a hollow wooden Osiris figure, which contained a papyrus scroll inscribed with a collection of texts from the Book of the Dead, known to the Egyptians as the "Book of Coming Forth by Day." It is more than seventeen feet long when unrolled.

    The scene depicted here shows the climax of the journey to the afterlife. Nany is in the Hall of Judgment. Holding her mouth and eyes in her hand, she stands to the left of a large scale. Her heart is being weighed against Maat, the goddess of justice and truth, who is represented as a tiny figure wearing her symbol, a single large feather, in her headband. On the right, Osiris, god of the underworld and rebirth, presides over the scene. He wears the white crown of Upper Egypt and the curving beard of a god. His body is wrapped like a mummy except for his hands, which clasp a crook. On the table before him is an offering of a joint of beef. Canine-headed Anubis, overseer of mummification, adjusts the scales, while a baboon—symbolizing Thoth, the god of wisdom and writing—sits on the balance beam and prepares to write down the result. Behind Nany stands the goddess Isis, both wife and sister of Osiris. She is identified by the hieroglyph above her head.

    In this scene, Nany has been found truthful and therefore worthy of entering the afterlife. Anubis says to Osiris, "Her heart is an accurate witness," and Osiris replies, "Give her her eyes and her mouth, since her heart is an accurate witness." In the horizontal register above the judgment scene, Nany appears in three episodes: worshipping the divine palette with which all is written, praising a statue of Horus in his falcon form, and standing by her own tomb.

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    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • Fischer, Henry G. "An Elusive Shape within the Fisted Hands of Egyptian Statues." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 10 (1975).
    JSTOR | PDF
  • Dorman, Peter, Edna R. Russmann, and Christine Lilyquist "Egyptian Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 41, no. 3 (Winter, 1983–84).
    JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs
    • "Curator" PDF
    • "Director" PDF
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    • Section from the "Book of the Dead" of Nany, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21, reigns of Psensennes I–II, ca. 1040–945 B.C.
    Egyptian; Western Thebes
    Painted and inscribed papyrus; H. of illustrated section 13 3/4 in. (34.9 cm)
    Rogers Fund, 1930 (30.3.31)

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