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AP®︎/College Art History
Course: AP®︎/College Art History > Unit 4
Lesson 2: Ancient Egypt- Ancient Egypt, an introduction
- Ancient Egyptian art
- Palette of King Narmer
- Seated Scribe
- The Great Pyramids of Giza
- Pyramid of Khufu
- Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Sphinx
- Pyramid of Menkaure
- King Menkaure (Mycerinus) and queen
- Temple of Amun-Re and the Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
- Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut and Large Kneeling Statue, New Kingdom, Egypt
- Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis (UNESCO/TBS)
- Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters
- Tutankhamun’s tomb (innermost coffin and death mask)
- Last Judgement of Hunefer, from his tomb
- Hunefer, Book of the Dead
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Hunefer, Book of the Dead
by The British Museum
Hunefer: An ancient Egyptian official
Hunefer and his wife Nasha lived during the Nineteenth Dynasty, in around 1310 B.C.E.. He was a "Royal Scribe" and "Scribe of Divine Offerings." He was also "Overseer of Royal Cattle," and the steward of King Sety I. These titles indicate that he held prominent administrative offices and would have been close to the king. The location of his tomb is not known, but he may have been buried at Memphis.
Hunefer's high status is reflected in the fine quality of his Book of the Dead, which was specially produced for him. This, and a Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figure, inside which the papyrus was found, are the only objects which can be ascribed to Hunefer. The papyrus of Hunefer is characterized by its good state of preservation and the large, and clear vignettes (illustrations) are beautifully drawn and painted. The vignette illustrating the "Opening of the Mouth" ritual is one of the most famous pieces of papyrus in The British Museum collection, and gives a great deal of information about this part of the funeral.
Page from the Book of the Dead of Hunefer
The centerpiece of the upper scene is the mummy of Hunefer, shown supported by the god Anubis (or a priest wearing a jackal mask). Hunefer's wife and daughter mourn, and three priests perform rituals. The two priests with white sashes are carrying out the Opening of the Mouth ritual. The white building at the right is a representation of the tomb, complete with portal doorway and small pyramid. Both these features can be seen in real tombs of this date from Thebes. To the left of the tomb is a picture of the stela which would have stood to one side of the tomb entrance. Following the normal conventions of Egyptian art, it is shown much larger than normal size, in order that its content (the deceased worshipping Osiris, together with a standard offering formula) is absolutely legible.
At the right of the lower scene is a table bearing the various implements needed for the Opening of the Mouth ritual. At the left is shown a ritual, where the foreleg of a calf, cut off while the animal is alive, is offered. The animal was then sacrificed. The calf is shown together with its mother, who might be interpreted as showing signs of distress.
Page from the Book of the Dead of Ani
The scene reads from left to right. To the left, Anubis brings Hunefer into the judgement area. Anubis is also shown supervizing the judgement scales. Hunefer's heart, represented as a pot, is being weighed against a feather, the symbol of Maat, the established order of things, in this context meaning 'what is right'. The ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the seat of the emotions, the intellect and the character, and thus represented the good or bad aspects of a person's life. If the heart did not balance with the feather, then the dead person was condemned to non-existence, and consumption by the ferocious "devourer," the strange beast shown here which is part-crocodile, part-lion, and part-hippopotamus.
However, as a papyrus devoted to ensuring Hunefer's continued existence in the Afterlife is not likely to depict this outcome, he is shown to the right, brought into the presence of Osiris by his son Horus, having become "true of voice" or "justified." This was a standard epithet applied to dead individuals in their texts. Osiris is shown seated under a canopy, with his sisters Isis and Nephthys. At the top, Hunefer is shown adoring a row of deities who supervise the judgement.
© Trustees of the British Museum
Suggested readings:
R.O. Faulkner, The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead (revised ed. C. A. R. Andrews) (London, The British Museum Press, 1985).
R.B. Parkinson and S. Quirke, Papyrus (Egyptian Bookshelf) (London, The British Museum Press, 1995).
S. Quirke and A.J. Spencer, The British Museum book of ancient Egypt (London, The British Museum Press, 1992).
Want to join the conversation?
- "The centerpiece of the upper scene is the mummy of Hunefer, shown supported by the god Anubis (or a priest wearing a jackal mask). "
We learned in a previous essay that Egyptian gods were painted with a yellow skin color and that living ordinary people were painted with a red skin color. Can't we rule out the possibility that the Jackal headed character is a painting of merely a "priest wearing a jackal mask" and is in fact Anubis due to his yellow skin (in opposition especially to the red skinned characters)?(13 votes) - Why is the second image referred to as a page from the Book of the Dead of Ani? The British Museum website says it is also from the Book of the Dead of Hu-Nefer. Are they the same work?(8 votes)
- There are similar scrolls from the Book of the Dead.(1 vote)
- what is the 'opening of the mouth' ritual?(5 votes)
- When the Egyptians are weighing the heart to the feather, what if the heart weighs the same as the feather?(5 votes)
- is the Egyptian priest related to The Aztec priest by taking there heart out while there heart is still beating to make sure they go to heaven that weird in my opinion but if its related ima do some research on t(2 votes)
- I seriously doubt that the two cultures are related. While they my have thought of the same things, they couldn't possibly have had connections to one another. That was an excellent observation, though!(3 votes)
- Does Hunefer pass his final judgment?(2 votes)
- according to what we see in book of death. he did pass the judgment. But only GOD knows.(1 vote)
- Was there several books of the dead all based off of different people? Or was this a part of the original book of the dead? And was there a big book of the dead with all of the people in it? If not who originally had one made for them? And if so who was it?(2 votes)
- in the 2 picture why are there 2 Anubis gods?(1 vote)
- There are 2 Anubis depictions because it shows different scenes. The larger Anubis is escorting Hunefer to the judgment area, and the smaller Anubis is helping to weigh and judge Hunefer's heart.(3 votes)
- Why would Anubis have the head of a jackal? Is there any symbolism to it? Is the jackal Anubis' sacred animal, much like Thoth's sacred animal is the baboon?(2 votes)
- He is wearing the head of a jackal because jackals were often found in cemeteries.(0 votes)
- Is there any connection between Egyptian Book of the Dead and Tibetan Book of the Dead?(1 vote)