Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21 (about 1069-945 BCE)
Artist:
Egyptian; probably Thebes (modern Luxor), Egypt
About this artwork
Potent symbols, sacred words, and divine protection helped ancient Egyptians transition from the earthly realm to an eternal existence. Interactions between mortals and the gods were depicted on funerary objects including papyri, like this example made for temple singer Tayu-henut-Mut (“the mistress of [the goddess] Mut”).
This papyrus shows Tayu-henut-Mut standing with raised hands before an offering table, praising the enthroned god Osiris, ruler of the afterlife. Behind Osiris a scribe has carefully copied spells from the Book of Going Forth by Day. First appearing during the New Kingdom (about 1550 BCE), this religious text is better known today as the Book of the Dead, because scrolls were buried with their owners. Tayu-henut-Mut’s copy includes five spells selected from nearly 200 known options to aid in her journey to eternity, including one for “causing a man to remember his name.” Egyptians believed that one would cease to exist in the afterlife if their name was forgotten or no longer spoken among the living.
Date
Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.
“Words spoken by Osiris foremost of the West, lord of Abydos, Wenenefer, lord of eternity… that he might give offerings and provisions to the Osiris, the mistress of the house and songstress of Amun-Re, king of the gods, Tayu-henut-Mut, true of voice, daughter of the scribe of the treasury Nes-pa-her-en-(ta-)hat, true of voice.”
Dimensions
24.5 × 101 cm (9 11/16 × 39 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, Robert H. Fleming, and Norman W. Harris
Reference Number
1894.180
IIIF Manifest
The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.
Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of the Egyptian Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1923), 10–11n1, 156-9 (ill.).
Thomas George Allen, The Egyptian Book of the Dead: Documents in the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago, Oriental Institute Publications 82 (University of Chicago Press, 1960), 3, 12-13, 60-61, 67, 289, pls. I-IV (as OIM 18039).
Madeleine Bellion, Égypte ancienne. Catalogue des manuscrits hiéroglyphiques et hiératiques et des dessins, sur papyrus, cuir ou tissu, publiés ou signalés (Paris: M. Bellion, 1987), 129 (as T. Chicago OIM 18039).
Andrzej Niwiński, Studies on the Illustrated Theban Funerary Papyri of the 11th and 10th Centuries B.C. (Freiburg/Göttingen: Universitätsverlag/Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1989), 304 (as Chicago 3).
Karl Jansen-Winkeln, “Text und Sprache in der 3. Zwischenzeit. Vorarbeiten zu einer spätmittelägyptischen Grammatik,” ÄUAT 26 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1994), 265 (as A/1.1.32, pChicago OIM 18039 = 94.180).
Giuseppina Lenzo Marchese, “Quelques manuscrits hiératiques du Livre des Morts de la Troisième Période intermédiaire du musée égyptien de Turin,” BIFAO 102 (2002), 270 (as P. Chicago OIM 18039).
Lisa Swart, “A Stylistic Comparison of Selected Visual Representations on Egyptian Funerary Papyri of the 21st Dynasty and Wooden Funerary Stelae of the 22nd Dynasty (c. 1069–715 B.C.E.)” (PhD diss., University of Stellenbosch, 2004), 114, 116, 196–7, 288, 300, pl. 142 (as pOIM 18039).
Emily Teeter and Janet H. Johnson, eds. The Life of Meresamun: A Temple Singer in Ancient Egypt, exh. cat. (Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 2009), 19, fig. 8.
Emily Cole, “Language and Script in the Book of the Dead,” in Foy D. Scalf, Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt (Chicago:Oriental Institue, 2017), 43, fig. 3.3.
Holger Kockelmann, “How a Book of the Dead Manuscript Was Produced,” in Foy D. Scalf, Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt (Chicago:Oriental Institue, 2017), 72, fig. 5.8.
Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 154A, April 20, 1994 - February 6, 2012.
Art Institute of Chicago, Spiritual Expressions: Art for Private Contemplation and Public Celebration, November 22, 1995 - March 17, 1996.
Art Institute of Chicago, When the Greeks Ruled: Egypt After Alexander the Great, October 31, 2013 - July 27, 2014.
Art Institute of Chicago, Life and Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, Feb. 11, 2022 - Dec. 14, 2022.
The Art Institute of Chicago, acquired in Egypt, 1894; price reimbursed by Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, Robert H. Fleming, and Norman W. Harris.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
