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Original fileThe Weighing of the Heart of Ani
Egypt dauingevekten
About This Work
This vignette from a papyrus scroll depicts a balance scale at the center, with the jackal-headed deity Anubis kneeling on the right to adjust the mechanism. In the left scale pan sits a heart (ib), representing the conscience of the deceased, while the right pan holds the feather of Ma'at, symbolizing truth and cosmic order. Ani and his wife stand to the left, observing the process, while a human-headed bird (Ba) perches on a nearby pedestal. The background is filled with rows of cursive hieroglyphs and additional iconography, rendered in traditional Egyptian polychromy on a papyrus support.
This scene is the central ritual of the Egyptian Book of the Dead (Spells of Coming Forth by Day), representing the Psychostasia, or the final judgment of the soul before the tribunal of Osiris. It illustrates the moral requirements for the deceased to enter the Field of Reeds.
Inscriptions(Middle Egyptian (Hieroglyphs))
Hieroglyphic text surrounds the scene in columns and registers, primarily containing portions of the Book of the Dead Spell 125.
Translation
Portions include: 'My heart, my mother; my heart, my mother; my heart of my transformations. Do not stand as a witness against me in the presence of the Lords of Things.', as well as labels for Anubis and Ma'at.
Connected Texts
Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani)
This image is a direct plate illustration from the 19th Dynasty funerary papyrus of the scribe Ani.