Collection
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Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Illustrated Papyrus

4th–3rd century B.C.E.

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Object Label

Winslow Homer was among the first artists to paint the “modern” American woman enjoying the physical liberation and social independence of outdoor leisure life. Here Homer depicts four unaccompanied lady hikers on a steep stone slope in the Adirondacks. This work demonstrates his interest in both dynamic asymmetrical compositions influenced by Japanese woodblock prints, which were becoming increasingly popular in the West, and the color effects of bright outdoor light.

Caption

Illustrated Papyrus, 4th–3rd century B.C.E.. Papyrus, pigment, ink, 37.1647Ea1: 13 9/16 × 6 9/16 in. (34.5 × 16.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.1647Ea1. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.1647Ea-e_view1_cropped.jpg)

Title

Illustrated Papyrus

Date

4th–3rd century B.C.E.

Period

Early Ptolemaic Period

Geography

Reportedly from: Memphis, Egypt

Medium

Papyrus, pigment, ink

Classification

Document

Dimensions

37.1647Ea1: 13 9/16 × 6 9/16 in. (34.5 × 16.6 cm)

Credit Line

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number

37.1647Ea1

Rights

No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Frequent Art Questions

  • What's this?

    This painting of a bull-headed deity is one of several fragments of a somewhat enigmatic papyrus. The fourteen figures on it are rendered relatively crudely and therefore scholars suggest that they represent an artist practicing figures and symbols.
    The most degraded parts of the papyrus like this deities wig, are areas that would have been blue suggesting that the blue pigment was harmful to the material.

  • What is this?

    This painting of a bull-headed deity is a fragment of a large papyrus that scholars think show practice paintings. If you lift the flap you can see the original image!
    Whatever blue pigment the artist used was harmful to the papyrus and created holes that you see in the deity's wig and kilt!
    Could you tell me what the round symbol with characters in it means? Thank you!
    The symbol is called a cartouche by Egyptologists or "shenu" in ancient Egyptian. It's used to enclose names written in hieroglyphs, usually the names of deities or royalty. This cartouche says "Osiris-Hapy, great god."
    That's great! Thank you!
    You're welcome!

  • Why is this sensitive to light?

    Organic materials like paper, textiles, wood, certain pigments, et cetera fade and degrade when exposed to ultraviolet light for an extended period of time. Have you ever noticed how the cover of a book exposed to sunlight fades? It's the same principal.
    Since this paper is over 2000 years old it is even more susceptible to light damage.
    Ultraviolet light breaks down the bonds in organic materials and will effectively cause the material to disintegrate.

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