Ancient Egypt, Late Period, ca. 664 to 332 BCE. Wow! A fantastic pair of Egyptian funerary writing and artwork. First, a papyrus fragment from the Book of the Dead, comprising a variant version of Chapter 18 in which Thoth, the god of writing, who gave the gift of language to the Egyptians, is asked to vindicate the deceased before various tribunals of gods from important religious geographical locations. This is all written in hieratic script with a rubric in red ink, dedicated to the deceased, Padineferhotep, and illustrated with procession of figures above the writing, of whom one remains in excellent detail and the lower body of the other remains. Size: 7.5" L x 4.5" W (19 cm x 11.4 cm)

Second, a polychrome stucco cartonnage fragment depicting a procession of female deities, each on a brightly colored background, in her own panel. The original 19th C. handwritten label in English is on the underside of this framed fragment. Size: 6.1" W x 4.7" H (15.5 cm x 11.9 cm); both contained in a frame: 12.9" W x 19.75" H (32.8 cm x 50.2 cm)

Link to the Christie's sale: http://www.christies.com/Lotfinder/lot_details.aspx?hdnSaleID=21408&LN=164&intsaleid=21408&sid=37fa3754-165b-46b1-a92b-88d6d3579e5a. The British Museum holds another fragment from this Book of the Dead belonging to Padineferhotep: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=113927&partId=1

Provenance: private Gray collection, Charleston, South Carolina, USA; ex Christies, London, England, sale 7521, lot 164, October 25, 2007; ex English private collection, acquired in the early 19th century and thence by descent to the present owner

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#128532

Both pieces are fragments as shown. Beautiful remaining color on the stucco fragment. Hieroglyphs are readable and in bright condition on the papyrus.