Egypt, Romano-Egyptian period, ca. 1st to 4th century CE. Eight papyrus fragments of varying sizes, one with Demotic script and five with Greek script. Demotic was used specifically for writing documents, like literary and religious texts, and represents a development from hieroglyphs. It is one of the three scripts on the Rosetta Stone. After Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BCE, he introduced the Greek language, which was used as the language of official documents until after 600 CE. Documents like these fragments are often tax rolls or receipts, census records, private records of sales, leases, or loans, marriage contracts, and contracts of apprenticeship. The neat, orderly handwriting on each of these may indicate that it is a religious or biblical literary piece. Comes in custom frame. Approximate size of largest fragment: 4" W x 3.8" H (10.2 cm x 9.7 cm); size of frame: 10.1" W x 8" H (25.7 cm x 20.3 cm)

For many centuries, papyrus was the most important writing material in the Classical and Mediterranean world, replacing clay tablets. The reeds used to make it grow mainly in Egypt, and the Greco-Roman world had to import them. They were manufactured in long rolls that could measure 7-15 inches in height and be up to 100 feet long. In these examples, you can see the crisscrossing horizontal and vertical fibers that make up the papyri.

Provenance: private Ritterbush collection

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#119010

All are fragmentary, as shown