Mummy bandage of Hepmeneh, born of Tasheritentaqeri, inscribed with text and vignette from the Book of the Dead

Texts and vignettes from the Book of the Dead were meant to provide guidance and protection to the deceased. In the Ptolemaic Period these texts and vignettes were sometimes placed on linen bandages. Linen bandages are more difficult to write on than papyrus, so that the script and images may not be so attractive as a papyrus Book of the Dead; but the linen bandages were used to wrap the mummy, placing the magic of the spells in direct proximity to the body. These bandages could be very long - one in Brussels reaches 8 meters or 26 feet - but in early periods of discovery they were often cut into many pieces for sale.

This bandage belonged to a man named Hepmeneh, overseer of royal unguents, son of the woman Tasheritentaqeri. It contains spells having to do with reaching the burial place. The vignette depicts the deceased worshipping the god Re-Harakhty in his bark, a scene which actually coordinates with spells other than those in this part of the text. The spells are written in hieratic script from right to left in columns of long horizontal lines. Clearly the text was inscribed first with space left for the vignette: much too much space was left and the vignette could not fill the area.

Inscribed bandages of the same owner are found in Boston, Philadelphia and Heidelberg.