papyrus
- Museum number
- EA10083
- Description
-
Hieratic papyrus of Buiharkhons; oracular amuletic decree.
- Production date
- 900BC (circa)
- Dimensions
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Height: 66.50 centimetres (frame)
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Height: 64 centimetres (papyrus)
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Weight: 854 grammes (in frame)
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Thickness: 1 centimetres (frame)
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Width: 8.35 centimetres (frame)
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Width: 5.80 centimetres (papyrus)
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
-
This spell was for the wellbeing of a girl named Buiharkhons. The text is composed of a series of sentences starting with ‘We shall keep her safe from…’, for example, ‘We shall keep her safe from leprosy, from blindness, and from the wedjat-eye.’ Protective spells could be recited or written on long papyrus strips, rolled up, and placed inside necklaces.
I. Regulski (ed.), Hieroglyphs: unlocking ancient Egypt (London 2022), p. 217
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Bibliography:
G. Pinch, Magic in Ancient Egypt (London 1994), fig.16b.
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Published in I. E. S. Edwards, Oracular Amuletic Decrees of the Late New Kingdom (HPBM 4; London: British Museum 1960).
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
2010/11 Oct-Mar, Leiden, National Museum Of Antiquities, Egyptian Magic
2022-2023 13 Oct-19 Feb, London, BM, Hieroglyphs: unlocking ancient Egypt
- Condition
- Papyrus Survey:
Condition Details:
Papyrus: bleached, loss, fractured
Black ink
Displayed in Room 63 until 1997
Mount Details:
Sandwich: glass
Binding: leather
Object Priority: B
Mount Priority: A
Overall Condition: B
Curatorial condition comment:
fair
- Acquisition date
- 1856
- Department
- Egypt and Sudan
- BM/Big number
- EA10083
- Registration number
- 1856,1215.3
