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Mummy Bandage, Wen-nefer, born of Ta-amun

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

The vignette depicts Wen-nefer sitting in front of an offering table, greeting three deities with his right hand. In his left hand he holds the image of his heart—the seat of consciousness—next to its correct anatomical place.
MEDIUM Linen, ink
  • Place Made: Egypt
  • DATES 332 B.C.E.-1st century C.E.
    PERIOD Ptolemaic Period or later
    DIMENSIONS 2 5/8 x 3/16 x 20 1/16 in. (6.7 x 0.4 x 51 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 37.2039.75E
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION The object is a fragment of a mummy bandage depicting a spell from the Book of the Dead, Spell sequence: BD 25 V - 26 - 27 V. Spells from the Book of the Dead are written on the bandage in black pigment in horizontal lines reading from right to left. A blank column marks the division between the spells. Illustrated vignettes are placed in these divisions between the text and relate to the adjacent spell. The vignette represented on this bandage is the heart spell. The deceased is holding the hieroglyph for "heart" over his chest and is seated before three deities. It is a plain weave strip of medium brown linen. The thread is spun in an S-twist.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Mummy Bandage, Wen-nefer, born of Ta-amun, 332 B.C.E.-1st century C.E. Linen, ink, 2 5/8 x 3/16 x 20 1/16 in. (6.7 x 0.4 x 51 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.2039.75E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.2039.75E_PS9.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 37.2039.75E_PS9.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2016
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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