In ancient Egypt, Books of the Dead guided the deceased through the underworld. For the first time ever, you can lay eyes on one of the only complete and gilded Books of the Dead—now on view in the Egyptian galleries.
This manuscript, dating between 340 and 57 B.C.E., holds nearly all 162 spells known from the longest versions. Unlike most surviving examples, it includes blank opening and closing pages that confirm its completeness. Conservation and curatorial efforts have also revealed its original owner—Ankhmerwer, son of Taneferher (“the one beautiful of face”)—offering an extraordinary connection to a person who lived more than two millennia ago.
This Museum Spotlight is included with general admission.
Behind the scenes
How do you conserve a 21-foot-long papyrus scroll that’s over 2,000 years old?
In this episode of Art Inside Out, curator Yekaterina Barbash and conservators Ahmed Tarek and Josephine Jenks discuss the three-year restoration of the gilded Book of the Dead.
Unrolling Eternity: The Brooklyn Books of the Dead is organized by Yekaterina Barbash, Curator, with Morgan Moroney, Assistant Curator, and Kathy Zurek-Doule, Curatorial Associate, Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art.
Funding for the conservation of the illustrated Book of the Dead was generously provided through a grant from the Bank of America Art Conservation Project.
From the top: Illustrated Book of the Dead (detail), 305–30 B.C.E. Papyrus, ink, gold, and paper. Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.1776E. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
