Papyrus Milbank

The papyrus of Irtyuru was originally made sometime around the second century BC, perhaps in the region near Memphis in Egypt. Because the papyrus was removed from its original tomb context, it is difficult to be more precise. In 1919 James Henry Breasted saw the papyrus for sale in the shop of an antiquities dealer in Cairo named Nicolas Tano. At the time, the scroll was still rolled up and flexible enough to be unrolled. It was over 33 feet long (1029 cm) and a foot high (30 cm)! When shown the first scenes of the papyrus, Breasted was stunned by its elegant appearance. He acquired funds from Elizabeth Milbank Anderson to purchase the papyrus for the Oriental Institute and designated it "Papyrus Milbank" in her honor. This exhibit will allow you to "unroll" this papyrus in order to explore its fascinating contents.

Moving from the scenes of the funeral and the previous theological treatise, sheet 4 of Irtyuru's papyrus begins spells justifying the righteousness of the deceased before divine tribunals (Spells 18—19). You can see some of these tribunals as groups of gods in the illustrations on the right side of this sheet. In these spells, Irtyuru calls out to Thoth to justify him against any detractors before the gods.

With the ability to manifest in divine forms and leave the tomb, Irtyuru hoped to join the gods in their heavenly abode. The following spells, shown on sheet 6, ensure Irtyuru's company among the gods and their provisions through offerings. Sheet 6 of his papyrus ends with spells 108 and 109, spells for knowing the gods of the western and eastern horizons respectively. As part of the sun's cycle of rising and setting, these deities ushered and protected the sun god and his entourage as they passed in and out of the underworld. With these spells, Irtyuru hoped to be an illuminated spirit traveling in the solar bark.

In order to reach a blessed state in the afterlife, Irtyuru had to go through a judgement before Osiris. The texts and images associated with this tribunal was designated as Book of the Dead spell 125 by nineteenth century scholars. The spell begins, as show here, with a so-called negative confession. A divine figure with a feather on their head stand atop the columns for the confessional. Underneath, Irtyuru calls out to each deity by name, and in the bottom column, he states that he has not committed some kind of sin. For example,"O far-strider who came forth from Heliopolis, I have not committed sins."

The spells on the thirteenth sheet of Iryturu's papyrus (spells 145–148) provided him with the necessary esoteric knowledge to pass through the gates of the netherworld. Illustrations for spell 145, the spell for the gateways to the field of reeds (shown in spell 110 earlier in the papyrus), show each portal with an associated guardian who kept the uninitiated out of the sacred space of the solar cycle. Irtyuru, however, is one of the initiated, and he is shown worshiping Osiris-Sokar in the illustration for spell 148, which the text describes as a "book for venerating the blessed spirit before Re."

The last sheet of Irtyuru's papyrus begins with vignettes associated with mummification, including images of protective amulets. Spell 161, a spell for "opening the sky" followed, illustrated by four images of Thoth holding the four supports of heaven. This spell focuses on the sun god Re's victory over death and emergence into the sky. This transition is described in the phrase "as Re live, the turtle dies" written in hieroglyphs between the figures of Thoth. Finally, spell 162, illustrated with the golden cow of heaven, rejuvenated Irtyuru by filling him with warmth. The final rubric instructs that the spell be "placed at the throat of the blessed." With the spells on this papyrus, Irtyuru intended to be reborn into an eternal existence with the gods.