Papyrus Fragment of the Book of the Dead: Vignettes of Deities

This papyrus fragment displays a series of rectangular frames containing seated, anthropomorphic deities painted in shades of ochre, black, and white. The figures are depicted in profile, wearing traditional Egyptian kilts and headpieces. Between the figures are vertical registers filled with dense, black hieroglyphic script. The papyrus shows signs of age, including horizontal cracking and white losses to the surface texture.

This fragment belongs to the Egyptian Book of the Dead (Spells for Going Forth by Day), a corpus of mortuary texts designed to guide the deceased through the Duat to the afterlife. The figures likely represent guardians of the gates or hours of the underworld, essential for the soul's successful passage.