"Amduat" Papyrus of Djedmutesankh

Third Intermediate Period

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 126

Discovered rolled up and placed between the legs of Djedmutesankh's mummy, this papyrus is a "Book of What is in the Netherworld (Duat)." It illustrates the 11th and 12th hours of the night, during which the deceased would travel with the sun god through the hazardous land of the dead to be reborn each morning. At the left is the boat of the sun-god together with various deities and denizens of the (Duat). To the right the mummified Osiris reclines in the arms of the god of the air Shu, who holds up the heavens with outstretched arms. Near Shu's head is a scarab beetle, incarnation of the sun at dawn; this represents the moment just before sunrise. At the extreme right Djedmutesankh pours a libation to a seated figure of Osiris.

"Amduat" Papyrus of Djedmutesankh, Papyrus, ink

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