"Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead" Exhibition @ Britisth Museum from 4 November 2010–6 March 2011

King Herihor and Queen Nodjmet adoring the god Osiris in the afterlife. From the Book of the Dead papyrus of Nodjmet, c. 1050 BC. EA 10541.

LONDON.- The British Museum’s major Autumn exhibition, supported by BP, will present and explore ancient Egyptian beliefs about life after death. Journey through the afterlife: ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead will showcase the rich textual and visual material from the British Museum’s unparalleled collection of Book of the Dead papyri. The ‘Book’, used for over 1500 years between c. 1600 BC and 100 AD, is not a single text, but a compilation of spells thought to equip the dead with knowledge and power which would guide them safely through the dangers of the hereafter and ultimately ensure eternal life.

The British Museum has one of the most comprehensive collections of Book of the Dead manuscripts on papyrus in the world, and this exhibition will be the first opportunity to see so many examples displayed together. The exhibition will include the longest Book of the Dead in the world, the Greenfield Papyrus, which measures 37 metres in length and has never been shown publicly in its entirety before. Also on display will be the famous paintings from the papyri of Ani and Hunefer, together with selected masterpieces on loan from major international collections. These treasures will be exhibited alongside a dazzling array of painted coffins, gilded masks, amulets, jewellery, tomb figurines and mummy trappings. State-of-the-art visualisation technology will provide new ways of accessing and understanding this key source in the history of world religions.

The Book of the Dead opens a window onto the complex belief systems of the ancient Egyptians where death and afterlife were a central focus. Though the name may be familiar today, the wealth of magical images and texts is actually much richer than is generally known. Beautifully coloured illustrations graphically show the fields and rivers of the Netherworld, the gods and demons whom the deceased would meet, and the critical ‘weighing of the heart’ ritual the judgement which would determine whether the soul was admitted into the afterlife or condemned to destruction at the hands of the monstrous ‘Devourer’. Although the earliest texts appeared on the mummy shrouds of royal families and high officials, papyrus became the texts’ main medium and remained so for more than 1,000 years.

Scene from the Book of the Dead of Hunefer. Egypt, c. 1280 BC.

Rites before the tomb. Scene from the Book of the Dead of Hunefer. Egypt, c. 1280 BC. Thebes, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, around 1300 BC. EA 9901 sheet 5.

This is an excellent example of one of the many fine vignettes (illustrations) from the Book of the Dead of Hunefer.

The centrepiece of the upper scene is the mummy of Hunefer, shown supported by the god Anubis (or a priest wearing a jackal mask). Hunefer's wife and daughter mourn, and three priests perform rituals. The two priests with white sashes are carrying out the Opening of the Mouth ritual. The white building at the right is a representation of the tomb, complete with portal doorway and small pyramid. Both these features can be seen in real tombs of this date from Thebes. To the left of the tomb is a picture of the stela which would have stood to one side of the tomb entrance. Following the normal conventions of Egyptian art, it is shown much larger than normal size, in order that its content (the deceased worshipping Osiris, together with a standard offering formula) is absolutely legible.

At the right of the lower scene is a table bearing the various implements needed for the Opening of the Mouth ritual. At the left is shown a ritual, where the foreleg of a calf, cut off while the animal is alive, is offered. The animal was then sacrificed. The calf is shown together with its mother, who might be interpreted as showing signs of distress.

Weighing of the heart by Anubis, detail from the Book of the Dead of Ani. Egypt, c. 1275 BC. EA 10470/3

The judgement of the dead in the presence of Osiris. Papyrus from the Book of the Dead of Ani. Thebes, Egypt
19th Dynasty, around 1275 BC. EA 10470/3

This scene from the Book of the Dead of Ani reads from left to right. At the left, Ani and his wife enter the judgement area. In the centre are the scales used for weighing the heart, attended by Anubis, the god of embalming. The process is also observed by Ani's ba spirit (the human-headed bird), two birth-goddesses and a male figure representing his destiny.

Ani's heart, represented as the hieroglyph for 'heart' (a mammal heart), sits on the left pan of the scales. It is being weighed against a feather, the symbol of Maat, the principle of order, which in this context means 'what is right'. The ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the seat of the emotions, the intellect and the character, and thus represented the good or bad aspects of a person's life. If the heart did not balance out with the feather, then the deceased were condemned to non-existence, and was consumed by the ferocious 'devourer', the strange beast, part-crocodile, part-lion, and part-hippopotamus, shown at the right of this scene.

However, a papyrus devoted to ensuring the continued existence of the deceased is not likely to depict this happening. Once the judgement is completed, the deceased was declared 'true of voice' or 'justified', a standard epithet applied to dead individuals in their texts. The whole process is recorded by the ibis-headed deity Thoth. At the top twelve deities supervise the judgement.

Sunrise scene, detail from the Book of the Dead of Nedjmet. Egypt, c.1070 BC

Herihor and Nedjmet before Osiris. Papyrus from the Book of the Dead of Nedjmet. Perhaps from the Royal Cache at Deir el-Bahari, Egypt, 21st Dynasty, around 1070 BC. Gift of King Edward VII. EA 10541.

Some ten years before it was drawn to the attention of Egyptologists, robbers had already raided the tomb of Nedjmet in the Royal Cache at Deir el-Bahari. The robbers presumably took Nedjmet's Book of the Dead, as by then it had already passed out of Egypt.

This scene shows Nedjmet and Herihor, her husband (whose burial has never been found) making offerings to Osiris, Isis and the four sons of Horus, who are also watching a small scene of weighing the heart. The weighing is supervised by Thoth in his form of a baboon, and the conventional heart is replaced by a small female figure which must represent Nedjmet.

Although there is no doubt that the papyrus was Nedjmet's - she appears in the judgement scene, and the mummy shown in a vignette is hers - Herihor features prominently. This is probably due to his royal status. He was one of the first of the High Priests of Amun who effectively ruled Upper Egypt from the end of the Twentieth Dynasty (about 1186-1069 BC) until some time in the Twenty-second (about 945-715 BC). He was also the first of the high priests of Amun to take on royal attributes, such as placing his name in a cartouche, and showing himself with the royal uraeus on his brow.