Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art · papyrus

Papyrus Fragments Inscribed in Greek or Coptic

Source of record: Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art — catalogued by the holding institution. View the original record →

Description

Caption: Papyrus Fragments Inscribed in Greek or Coptic, 395–642 C.E.. Papyrus, ink, Glass: 8 7/16 x 11 1/4 in. (21.5 x 28.5 cm) Largest Fragment: 1 3/4 x 2 15/16 in. (4.5 x 7.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Theodora Wilbour, 35.1457. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano

Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.

A display case contains multiple small, torn papyrus fragments spread on a pale backing, each fragment bearing dark ink writing or marks that resemble cursive script.

The image shows a rectangular mounting tray with a light gray/blue background. Scattered across the center and right are numerous irregular papyrus pieces (torn edges, varying sizes). Many fragments have a dark, handwritten-looking text layer; however, the individual letters and language cannot be confidently read at this resolution. No clearly identifiable Egyptian hieroglyphs, royal cartouches, or named deities are legible. The writing appears non-Egyptian in style (abstract strokes/curves), consistent with the catalogue’s attribution to Greek or Coptic, though the script cannot be verified from the provided image. A small torn strip-like fragment is visible on the upper right. No Greek/Coptic letter forms can be reliably transcribed, and no Arabic/Coptic diacritics are clearly distinguishable.

hieroglyphic only Late Antique Period (consistent with catalogue; exact language/script not fully legible) fragmentary
Materials Papyrusink
Signs inscribed cursive/handwritten text (unreadable) ×8

Connections

Materials InkPapyrus

Cross-references (2)

  • BKM-Accession 35.1457 tier-2
  • BKM-Object 45063 tier-2
About this record's data
  • From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
  • AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
  • Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
  • Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.