Papyrus of Ani
Encyclopedia
The Papyrus of Ani is a papyrus
manuscript written in cursive hieroglyphs
and illustrated with color miniatures created in the 19th dynasty of the New Kingdom
of ancient Egypt
(c. 1250 B.C.).
Egyptians often compiled an individualized book for each person at their death, called the "Book of Going Forth by Day". This book is more commonly known as the Book of the Dead
. It usually contained declarations and spells to help the deceased in their afterlife. The "Book of the Dead" for scribe Ani from Thebes is the manuscript called the Papyrus of Ani.
It was purchased in 1888 by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge
for the collection of the British Museum
where it remains today. Before shipping the manuscript to England, Budge cut the seventy-eight foot scroll into thirty-seven sheets of nearly equal size, damaging the scroll's integrity at a time when technology had not yet allowed the pieces to be put back together.
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
manuscript written in cursive hieroglyphs
Cursive hieroglyphs
Cursive hieroglyphs are a variety of Egyptian hieroglyphs commonly used for religious documents written on papyrus, such as the Book of the Dead. It was particularly common during the Ramesside Period and many famous documents, such as the Papyrus of Ani, utilize it...
and illustrated with color miniatures created in the 19th dynasty of the New Kingdom
New Kingdom
The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt....
of ancient Egypt
History of Ancient Egypt
The History of Ancient Egypt spans the period from the early predynastic settlements of the northern Nile Valley to the Roman conquest in 30 BC...
(c. 1250 B.C.).
Egyptians often compiled an individualized book for each person at their death, called the "Book of Going Forth by Day". This book is more commonly known as the Book of the Dead
Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead is the modern name of an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom to around 50 BC. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw is translated as "Book of Coming Forth by Day". Another translation would be "Book of...
. It usually contained declarations and spells to help the deceased in their afterlife. The "Book of the Dead" for scribe Ani from Thebes is the manuscript called the Papyrus of Ani.
It was purchased in 1888 by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge
E. A. Wallis Budge
Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge was an English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist who worked for the British Museum and published numerous works on the ancient Near East.-Earlier life:...
for the collection of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
where it remains today. Before shipping the manuscript to England, Budge cut the seventy-eight foot scroll into thirty-seven sheets of nearly equal size, damaging the scroll's integrity at a time when technology had not yet allowed the pieces to be put back together.
Contents
| Divisions | Sections | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | 16 | Hymns |
| 02 | 36 | Praises of Khert-Neter |
| 03 | 08 | Seven Arits |
| 04 | 10 | Pylons of the House of Osiris |
| 05 | 05 | Speeches |
| 06 | 22 | Hail Thoths |
| 07 | 32 | Chapter Collection 1 |
| 08 | 20 | Homages |
| 09 | 19 | Miscellaneous (Hymns, Hails, Homage, Chapter, Rubric) |
| 10 | 18 | Chapter Collection 2 |
| 11 | 20 | Funeral Chamber Texts |
- Note: divisions vary based on compilations. 'Sections' are groups of related sentences; not a true English grammatical construct. Titles are not original to the text.
See also
- Book of the DeadBook of the DeadThe Book of the Dead is the modern name of an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom to around 50 BC. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw is translated as "Book of Coming Forth by Day". Another translation would be "Book of...
- Maat: 42 Negative Confessions (Papyrus of Ani)