Book of the Dead of Nedjmet Print

Exclusive to the British Museum, a print showing a fragment of an ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.

The print is part of a range accompanying the British Museum exhibition Hieroglyphs: unlocking ancient Egypt.

Ancient Egyptian ‘Books of the Dead’ played an important part of the journey from death to the afterlife. They contained magical texts, spells, and illustrations, and were often written on papyrus. This fragment of the Book of the Dead of Nedjmet, which dates to c.1070 BC, shows the queen of King Herihor standing by the scales for the Weighing of the Heart ceremony, in which the weight of her heart would be judged against the feather of Maat, goddess of truth and justice.

A magical piece of home art.