Minneapolis Institute of Art

Funerary papyrus

Egypt

Date

1070–712 BCE

Medium

Papyrus

Culture

Ancient Egyptian

Department

Arts of Global Africa

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Funerary papyri like this one, containing potent magical images, were placed in tombs to enable the deceased to be reborn in the afterlife as a god. On the right side of the divided papyrus, the priest Djedkhonsuiufankh (pronounced “jed-CON-su-yu-eff-ONK” and meaning “the god Khonsu says he shall live”) raises his hands in adoration and offers burning incense to the god Osiris. Because he is a priest, his head is shaved and he wears immaculate white linen garments. Osiris appears in the form of a mummy; his black skin color refers to the fertile black Nile river mud with its promise of new life. Between them is a table heaped high with funerary offerings: loaves of bread, onions, a bunch of grapes, and three lotus flowers. On the left, a lioness-headed goddess ushers Djedkhonsuiufankh into a shadowy world of gods and demons. The imagery depicts the sun god’s passage through the underworld at night, where he unites with the god Osiris to emerge again at dawn. By identifying with the sun god, the deceased for whom this papyrus was painted hoped to participate in the solar cycle of rebirth and achieve victory over death. Ancient Egyptian, Egypt, Africa

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