Over time, illustrations were added, and spells were also inscribed on the interior of coffins or the linen shrouds used to wrap the deceased. They were originally painted onto objects or written on the walls of burial chambers. These "books" were actually collections of funerary texts and spells to help the deceased on their journey through the underworld ( Duat)-not to bring people back from the dead-and they are not holy texts like the Bible or Qur'an. The reality is naturally quite different: Notably, there is not one magical copy of the Book of the Dead, as depicted in the film there were many versions over the centuries, all unique, with the choice of spells often tailored to the specific needs of deceased royals and (later) high-ranking members of Egyptian society. The scroll has been dubbed the "Waziri papyrus." It is currently being translated into Arabic.įans of the 1999 film The Mummy know that the Egyptian Book of the Dead plays a key role in bringing the cursed high priest Imhotep back to terrorize the living. 58.Archaeologists have confirmed that a papyrus scroll discovered at the Saqquara necropolis site near Cairo last year does indeed contain texts from the Egyptian Book of the Dead-the first time a complete papyrus has been found in a century, according to Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt. I, The image of mś.w Bdšt in ancient Egyptian mythology (Archaeopress Egyptology 16), Oxford, p. Studies on the vignettes from chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead. Corzo, Nefertari Luce d'Egitto, Rome 1994, pp. Very little text/image loss except for yellow paint which has faded. The lines of inscription above the scenes contain passages from spell 30B of the Book of the Dead.Ĭomposition is framed on top and bottom with red and yellow lines. The four Sons of Horus stand on a large lily (lotus) which grows from a pool of water beneath Osiris' throne. Horus then conducts Hunefer to a shrine in which Osiris sits enthroned, accompanied by the goddesses Isis and Nephthys. Below the balance crouches Ammit, the 'Devourer of the Damned', accompanied by a short inscription which describes her: 'Her front is a crocodile, her rear a hippopotamus, her middle a lion.' To the right, Thoth, ibis-headed, holds a pen and scribal palette to record the outcome of the weighing. On the left scale-pan is Hunefer's heart, and on the right the feather hieroglyph which symbolises Maat. Below, the jackal-headed Anubis leads Hunefer towards the balance of judgement, where Anubis is depicted again, kneeling to adjust the plumb-weight on the balance. Perhaps, as royal scribe, it was Hunefer himself who put brush to ink to inscribe his own papyrus.įull size polychrome vignette of Hunefer in judgement scene.įrom left: above, Hunefer kneels in adoration before a company of deities, who are named as Ra, Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Horus, Isis, Nephthys, Hu and Sia, and the Southern, Northern and Western 'roads'. Curator's comments 'Book of the Dead' papyri are first found in the early New Kingdom c.1450 BC and the finest (like Hunefer's) were written by expert scribes and decorated by master draftsmen.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |