As part of their preparations for the afterlife, ancient Egyptians created an intricate set of religious writings and related illustrations that they recorded on papyrus scrolls, linen mummy wrappings, and other funerary objects.
Known today as the Book of the Dead, these texts were meant to assist the soul's transition to a blessed eternal life beyond death. The goal was to cross into "the West," the realm of the setting sun, and become an initiated spirit (akh), uniting with the sun god Re and the netherworld god Osiris in a cycle of continuous renewal and rebirth.
The Getty's Book of the Dead manuscripts form one of the largest such collections in North America, with examples ranging from about 1450 BC to 50 BC. These manuscripts shed light on Egyptian religious beliefs and funerary practices over a period of nearly 1,500 years.
Fragmentary Papyrus with Spells from the Book of the Dead (304–30 B.C.) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
"Book of the Dead" is a modern term for a collection of nearly 200 ritual "spells" - recitations and instructions - that were variously selected and combined into individual manuscripts. The surviving spells each address a different concern or anticipated experience.
Forming one of history's most substantial bodies of religious literature, they illuminate how ancient Egyptians understood the cosmos, the world of the gods, and the nature of existence.
Fragmentary Papyrus with Spells and Vignettes from the Book of the Dead (304–30 B.C.) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Papyri
The Book of the Dead evolved from a variety of sources, including earlier funerary inscriptions, priestly oaths, and oral traditions.
By around 1550 BC, professional scribes starting copying Book of the Dead spells on papyrus scrolls, where the text was often accompanied by drawn vignettes. At this time, scribes experimented with different formats and designs for this new genre of funerary literature.
Book of the Dead Papyrus of Webennesre (304–30 B.C.) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Papyrus of Webennesre
The owner of this papyrus scroll was Webennesre, a woman whose name translates to "may (the sun god) Re rise for her."
This manuscript dates to about 1450 BC and is the oldest in the Getty's Book of the Dead collection.
Most Book of the Dead manuscripts were owned by men, but this papyrus shows that some women had not only the financial means but also the knowledge to appreciate the ownership of a personal copy.
Webennesre's papyrus is written in the hieratic script, a cursive version of hieroglyphs. In an unusual choice, the scribe wrote the vertical columns of text in retrograde, meaning that although the signs face to the right, the individual columns are read from left to right. . .
. . . Imagine reading the lines on the page of a book from bottom to top.
Webennesre's manuscript records spell 149, in which the deceased encounters 14 hills. The hills represent places in the afterlife, each with its own inhabitants.
The vignette on the far right is spell 150, illustrating the hills and naming their guardians. Spells like this one inform the deceased about dangerous places and communicate secret knowledge to help them navigate the terrain and open doors that would otherwise be closed.
Fragmentary Papyrus with Spells from the Book of the Dead (1085–730 B.C.) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Papyrus of Ankhesenaset
Around the time this papyrus was made (1069-900 BC), shorter scrolls without illustrations became popular in the region of Thebes. They often contained a group of of spells meant to ensure that the deceased maintained their necessary faculties in the beyond.
This papyrus belonged to Ankhesenaset ("may she live for (the goddess) Isis"), a ritual singer and priestess of the god Amun in Thebes.
The text is organized into columns of horizontal lines and includes spell 23, which was meant to open her mouth so that she could breath, communicate, eat, and drink.
Ancient Egyptian texts do not make use of punctuation or spacing between words. For modern readers, this can make manuscripts like these challenging to decipher.
Small sections of text written in red ink are known as rubrics. They can highlight the beginning of a spell or serve as signposts for the reader.
Fragmentary Papyrus with Spells and Vignettes from the Book of the Dead (304–30 B.C.) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Papyrus of Pasherashakhet
The manuscript owned by Pasherashakhet ("the son of one bountiful in possessions") was made around 375-275 BC. Pasherashakhet was a "doorkeeper" of the god Khonsu at his temple in Thebes.
The text is arranged in vertical columns of cursive hieroglyphs that read from right to left, accompanied by lavish vignettes. The surviving text includes spell 15, among others, as well as illustrations for spells 110 and 125.
Spell 15
Spell 15 contains a set of hymns to the rising and setting sun. The daily solar cycle was central to ancient Egyptian ideas about the afterlife.
At the bottom of this illustration, Pasherashakhet and his wife receive offerings of incense and drink under a roof-like structure symbolizing his tomb chapel.
The middle section shows four baboons and two ba-birds (human-headed birds representing ancestral spirits) praising the morning sun.
In the top register, the rising sun's rays fall between two kneeling women who represent the eastern and western horizons.
Spell 110
Pasherashakhet sows, ploughs, and harvests grain in the Field of Reeds, a paradisiacal realm in the afterlife where sustenance is produced for the gods and the initiated akh-spirits.
Spell 125
This vignette from spell 125 shows the deceased appearing at the court of the netherworld god Osiris, who sits underneath an ornamental canopy surrounded by 26 divine judges. They watch the weighing of Pasherashakhet's heart against the feather of justice.
Ammit, a monster with the head of a crocodile, the forepart of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus, waits in anticipation. She sits ready to gobble down any heart the fails the test.
The deceased is ushered by the goddess Maat when he appears before Osiris, along with four entities with human heads that embody fate, birth, and upbringing (seen here as two seated figures followed by two sphinx-like figures, facing left).
According to ancient Egyptian belief, these qualities form a person’s character, and they make sure that during an individual’s lifetime they do not deviate from the path of rightfulness.
Some vignettes include direct speech, like speech bubbles in a comic book or manga. When Pasherashakhet's heart passes the test, Thoth, the ibis-headed god of writing, communicates the result to Osiris, saying "His heart is safe upon the scale without fault found."
Osiris responds "Welcome, welcome in peace to the beautiful West!"
Mummy Wrappings
In later phases of the Book of the Dead (about 400-100 BC), scribes wrote spells on thin linen strips that were then wrapped around mummified bodies in the ritual embalming process. This practice brought the sacred texts into direct contact with the deceased, enveloping and protecting them. The Getty collection includes mummy wrappings that belonged to three different men.
Mummy Wrapping with Spells and Vignettes from the Book of the Dead (3rd–1st century B.C.) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Mummy Wrapping of Petosiris, son of Tetosiris
As on the papyrus of Pasherashakhet, this fragmentary mummy wrapping of Petosiris ("the one whom Osiris has given") shows scenes that accompany hymns to the sun. The text on this wrapping is from spell 15.
The wrapping also includes vignettes for spell 17. In this detail, Petosiris' head emerges from a box-like shrine that likely represents a storage container for the canopic jars that held mummified internal organs.
To the left and right are the canopic jars, which are shown with lids in the form of the heads of protective deities known as the four Sons of Horus.
Mummy Wrapping with Spells and Vignettes from the Book of the Dead (3rd–1st century B.C.) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Mummy Wrapping of Petosiris, son of Nanesbastet
A second set of mummy wrappings in the Getty's collection belonged to another man also named Petosiris, whose mother was Nanesbastet ("may [the goddess] Bastet be kind to her").
Petosiris stands to the right of an offering table, holding an elaborately beaded collar in his hands. At left, the goddess Isis shakes a ritual rattle known as a sistrum.
Mummy Wrapping with Spells and Vignettes from the Book of the Dead (3rd–1st century B.C.) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Mummy Wrapping of Nanefbastet, son of Taneferher
The third set of wrappings belonged to a man named Nanefbastet ("may Bastet be kind to him"). These wrappings have vignettes that appear rather schematic and the artistic expression is somewhat stifled.
The repertoire depicted includes offering scenes, libations, and burning of incense.
Ushabtis
Ushabtis (or shabtis) are small funerary figurines that were interred in tombs, sometimes in large numbers. Their mummiform bodies were inscribed with spell 6 of the Book of the Dead, also known as the ushabti spell.
When spoken aloud, the spell animated the figures so that they could perform labor in the afterlife on behalf of the deceased.
Ushabti for Neferibresaneith Ushabti for Neferibresaneith (about 570–526 B.C.) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Ushabti of Neferibresaneith
Three hundred and thirty six ushabtis, including this one, were buried with a man named Neferibresaneith in a tomb in Saqqara, Egypt, which was excavated from 1928 to 1929.
Neferibresaneith (whose name appears in the top line of the hieroglyphic inscription on the figure’s body) held the titles of wab-priest, Royal Chancellor of Lower Egypt, and Administrator of the Palace during the reign of Pharaoh Ahmose II (ca. 570–526 BC).
Ushabti for Neferibresaneith (3/4 Left Front)The J. Paul Getty Museum
This ushabti is made from faience, a quartz-based glazed ceramic common in ancient Egypt.
Ushabti for Neferibresaneith Ushabti for Neferibresaneith (about 570–526 B.C.) by UnknownThe J. Paul Getty Museum
In his crossed arms, the ushabti holds a hoe and a pick. A seed bag held by a cord is slung over his left shoulder. These agricultural tools reference the figure’s function: to perform labor in the afterlife.
© 2020 J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles
Dive deeper into the Getty's Book of the Dead manuscripts in What is the Book of the Dead?, an article from Getty News & Stories.
To learn more about this topic, Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt is available for free through the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.
To cite these texts, please use: "The Getty Book of the Dead," published online in 2020 via Google Arts & Culture, Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
