Complete gilded Book of the Dead on display for first time

One of the only complete gilded copies of the Egyptian Book of the Dead is on public display at the Brooklyn Museum for the first time. Only ten gilded papyri from the Book of the Dead are known, and most of them are fragments. This is the best gilded version to date.

new exhibition, Unfolding Eternity: The Brooklyn Book of the Deaddisplays papyri in the funerary gallery in the Egyptian wing of the museum. The gallery has been refreshed with new exhibits on ancient Egyptian funerary customs and beliefs, including the richly decorated coffin and mummy slab of Pasebakhaienipet, the mayor of Thebes, several mummified people and animals, and wall reliefs from the tomb of vizier Nespeqashuty, one of the earliest examples of the Book of the Dead (1500-1480 BC). A collection of smaller items such as gold amulets, reed pens and sketches.

This gilded Book of the Dead dates to the Ptolemaic period (305-30 BC) and is 21 feet long. It contains almost all 162 known spells in the surviving samples of the Book of the Dead. They are written in monastic script (cursive hieroglyphics) and illustrated with ink scenes and figures accented in gold. The double borders around the text and columns, as well as the illustrations, indicate that the book is an excellent example of the Memphian style of Lower Egypt. Some vignettes show distinct shading and rare traces of yellow orpiment pigment. We know the manuscript is complete because it retains the blank opening and closing pages that are often lost.

The papyrus was purchased by Henry Abbott, an English physician, in the 19th century. He was an avid collector of Egyptian antiquities, amassing a collection of thousands when he exhibited at the first Egyptian Art Exhibition in New York City in 1853. After Dr. Abbott’s death, the entire collection was transferred to the New-York Historical Society and loaned to the Brooklyn Museum in 1937. The museum was officially acquired in 1948.

The papyrus is too fragile to be displayed. It is mounted on an acidic paper backing, which puts stress on the fragile fibers. Only six inches of the scroll can even be seen. The rest is still rolled up and cannot be unrolled without risking too much damage. The museum embarked on a comprehensive conservation effort for the document three years ago, and experts were finally able to open the papyrus scroll all the way. They discovered that it belonged to Ankhmerwer (“May the god Mnevis live forever”), the son of Taneferher (“Beautiful Face”).

This video from the Brooklyn Museum details the complex conservation process and what the team discovered during the manuscript’s research.