Shroud of Mahu with Book of the Dead
Egyptian, possibly Thebes, Egypt, Africa
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18 (1549-1295 BCE), about 1430 BCE
Linen and black, green, red, and white paint
Overall: 18 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. (48 x 20 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College: Museum Purchase
39.64.6623
Geography/Culture
Africa, Northern Africa, Egypt
Period
2000-1000 BCE
Object Name
Funerary Equipment
Classification
Ancient Egypt
Africa
Not on view
Inscription
Inscription in the left compartment—in the 4 columns around Osiris—reads: "Osiris lord of Djedu, Osiris ruler of eternity, Osiris [in the midst of Abydos (?)], Osiris Onnophris, Osiris lord of the Necropolis, Osiris ruler of the Thinite home, Osiris foremost of the westerners." Inscription on the first 5 columns surrounding the woman: "Living praise to Osiris and kissing (the ground) before the bull of the west, (the god) in the midst of Abydos, (by) the chief nurse Mahu, true of voice. She says, Hail to you, O lord of everlastingness and ruler of eternity! Let me breath the breath which you give me, let (me) live (on) your victual offerings!" The inscription in the right compartment is the 124th chapter of "The Book of the Dead," a spell designed to assist the dead in going into the presence of the assessors of Osiris.”
Course History
REL 55, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Susan Ackerman, Spring 2015
ARTH 20, The Art of Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East, Steven Kangas, Spring 2015
REL 55, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Susan Ackerman, Spring 2015
REL 55, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Susan Ackerman, Spring 2015
REL 55, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Susan Ackerman, Spring 2015
ARTH 20, The Art of Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East, Steve Kangas, Winter 2014
ARTH 20, The Art of Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East, Steven Kangas, Winter 2014
ANTH 12.5, Death and the Afterlife in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Virginia Herrmann, Winter 2014
ANTH 12.5, Death and the Afterlife in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Virginia Herrmann, Winter 2014
ARTH 20, Art of Ancient Egypt and the Near East, Steven Kangas, Spring 2013
ARTH 20, Art of Ancient Egypt and the Near East, Steven Kangas, Spring 2013
Exhibition History
Egyptian Antiquities at Dartmouth, Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, February 12, 2011-August 13, 2012.
Publication History
Richard A. Caminos, Fragments of the Book of the Dead on Linen and Papyrus, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Volume 56, 1970, Oxford, England: University Press, pp. 117-123, ill. Plate LII.
Provenance
Miss E. M. Sutton (possibly Eveline Mary Sutton, 1858-1935), Oxford, England; given to the Museum and Art Gallery, Reading, England, 1931; sold to present collection, 1939.
Old Number
Reading Museum # 436.31/1.1
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete.
Noticed a mistake? Have some extra information about this object? Contact Us