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Original fileMuseum Label for the Papyrus of Ani
Flickr - Nic's events - British Museum with Cory and Mary, 6 Sep 2007 - 281
About This Work
The image is a high-contrast, close-up photograph of a museum label printed on off-white paper. It features black sans-serif typography, numbered '1' at the top left, which explains the historical and magical context of a specific section of the Papyrus of Ani. The text describes how the name of a serpent enemy is written in red ink and includes a small, hand-drawn sketch of a snake impaled by three knives to demonstrate the apotropaic ritual used to protect the deceased.
This label documents the 'execration' of Apep (Apophis), the chaos-serpent, in the Book of the Dead, illustrating the ancient Egyptian practice of using sympathetic magic and orthography to neutralize malevolent entities.
Inscriptions(English)
1. Funerary papyrus of the scribe Ani Nineteenth Dynasty, about 1250 BC In this funerary text (14th line from left), the name of the Sungod's serpent enemy is written in red ink. The final pictorial determinative sign, showing a snake, is stuck with pictures of knives to prevent it from harming the deceased. EA 10470.22 2.