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

Scene from a Magical Papyrus

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

Description

Object Label: The standing winged creature seen here is known as the nineheaded Bes figure, a divine protector of the birth of the king and of the sun. This form of Bes was closely associated with the evening and the night part of the solar cycle. He thus also played an important role as guardian of sleeping women and children, particularly against the dangers of the night, represented here by the noxious creatures contained in the oval upon which he stands. The firebrands that surround him represent destructive forces directed at anyone who approaches. Caption: Scene from a Magical Papyrus, 664–525 B.C.E.. Papyrus, ink, c: Object: 29 15/16 × 4 7/8 in. (76.1 × 12.4 cm) c: Frame: 8 7/8 × 34 1/16 in. (22.6 × 86.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Theodora Wilbour from the collection of her father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 47.218.156a-d. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

The same text in other collections

Linked by shared inventory number (ORAEC-id oraec90). Each record below describes this same artifact or text from a different angle.

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 horizontally preserved strip of painted/drawn papyrus showing a central figure associated with magic/ritual imagery, accompanied by dense rows of ink inscription or text above and/or beside the figure.

The artifact appears as a long, narrow papyrus fragment with a tan-brown ground. In the central register there is a large, dark-outlined human-like or deity-like figure with a prominent headdress/hat and arms held close to the body; the figure is surrounded by small repeated marks that resemble attendants, protective figures, or decorative/border elements. Surrounding the central image are multiple horizontal bands of tightly spaced ink text in Egyptian script (hieroglyphs or cursive forms), filling much of the visible surface; the text is oriented in lines running across the length of the papyrus. The left edge shows additional vertical/diagonal marks consistent with script or border decoration. No clearly legible Greek/Coptic/Arabic is visible in the provided resolution. No cartouches or clearly identifiable royal names are legible. Overall, the imagery and accompanying inscriptions are consistent with the catalogue’s identification as a magical papyrus scene.

religious Late Period, Saite Period (as per catalogue); exact dating uncertain from image alone. fragmentary
Deities unknown (possible ritual/deity figure; not legible enough to identify)
Materials Papyrusink (dark pigment/black-brown text and outlines)
Signs Egyptian hieroglyphic/cursive ink signs (unreadable at this resolution) ×100

Connections

Found at Elephantine
Deities Bes
Materials Papyrus

Cross-references (4)

  • BKM-Accession 47.218.156a-d tier-2
  • BKM-Object 60794 tier-2
  • ORAEC-id oraec90 tier-2 (inventory-match)
  • ORAEC-id oraec127 tier-2 (inventory-match)
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.