"Book of the Dead" inscribed for Henettawy, daughter of Isetemkheb

Third Intermediate Period
ca. 990–970 B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 126
Discovered inside Henettawy's Osiris figure (25.3.35a, b), this papyrus had been tightly rolled and tied with a tape of papyrus on one side.The scroll starts on viewer right with a painted vignette showing Henettawy presenting a jar of ointment to a figure of Osiris, captioned with carefully drawn hieroglyphs. The remainder of the papyrus is filled with columns of text written in a cursive script called hieratic. These are chapters from the Book of Coming Forth by Day (known as the Book of the Dead), each headed by a title in red ink. The drawing and hieroglyphs in the scene were done by one draftsman, the hieratic text by another.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Book of the Dead" inscribed for Henettawy, daughter of Isetemkheb
  • Period: Third Intermediate Period
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 21
  • Date: ca. 990–970 B.C.
  • Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Tomb MMA 60, Chamber, Burial of Henettawy, daughter of Isetemheb (Ch4), MMA excavations, 1923–24
  • Medium: Papyrus, ink
  • Dimensions: L. 166.4 × H. 24.1 cm (65 1/2 × 9 1/2 in.)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1925
  • Object Number: 25.3.29
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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