Amduat papyrus of Padief
Turin papyrus Cat. 1777 presents scenes from the middle registers of the Amduat's Tenth and Twelfth Hours. Above the composition, the scribe placed a line of text reporting the Eleventh Hour's introduction, and on the manuscript’s far right-hand side, the so-called etiquette shows an offering scene between Osiris and the papyrus’ owner.
The treatise’s structure consists of one horizontal register. From left to right it describes the netherworld reality through a multimodal composition of visual and linguistic signs.
The Tenth Hour, on the manuscript’s left-hand side, presents the following scenes: The Solar Boat, The bA of Sokar, The bA of Osiris and The Armed Ones.
An eight-columned text presents the Tenth Hour's introduction as well as the deceased’s name, epithet and title. This text separates the Tenth Hour from the Twelfth.
On the manuscript’s right-hand side, the Twelfth Hour describes the end of the Sun-god Re's nocturnal journey through the Netherworld. Here, the Sun’s rejuvenation process takes place inside the life-regenerating serpent anx-nTr.w (Life of the gods). This hour of the night presents the following scenes: The Solar Boat, The Twelve Gods of Tow, The Snake of Rejuvenation, The Thirteen Goddesses of Tow and Khepri and Shu.
On the manuscript’s far right-hand side, the etiquette shows the deceased, Padief, offering funerary supplies and a perfume burner to Osiris.
Third Intermediate Period (1076-664 BC)
Dynasty 21 (1076-944 BC)
Amenemope/Siamun
Thebes (?)
Acquisition: Drovetti, Bernardino
Acquisition Date: 1824
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Enrico Pozzi (EP)
Shenali Boange (SB)
cursive hieroglyphs
Amduat
Eleventh Hour, Tenth Hour, Twelfth Hour
Netherworld (dwA.t), Unified Darkness (kkw-smAw), Amun estate (pr-imn), Igeret (igr.t), With deep water and high banks (mDw.t-qA.t-wDb.w), Mouth of the cavern which examines the corpses (rA-n-qrr.t-ip.t-XA.wt)
Third Intermediate Period (1076-664 BC)
Dynasty 21 (1076-944 BC)
Amenemope/Siamun
Yes
The manuscript’s visual representation describes the Sun-god Re's nocturnal journey through the Tenth and Twelfth Hours of the night. The treatise's visual model resembles the middle registers of the prototype established that decorates the 18th Dynasty royal burial chambers in the Valley of the Kings. However, some deities are missing (deities 725, 738, 741, 742, 744 in the Tenth Hour and deities 846, 853, 854, 856, 865, 866, 867, 870, 871, 872, 873, 875, 876, 877 in the Twelfth Hour). The treatise's structure consists of a single horizontal register presenting Re, in his nocturnal shape as a ram-headed deity, travelling on the solar boat through the netherworld regions. The Tenth Hour, on the manuscript’s left-hand side, presents the solar barque and its crew, the double-headed serpent Ts-Hr.w (Uniting faces) carrying the falcon-shape bA of Sokar xnty-p.t (Foremost of the sky), and a second vessel transporting the serpent anx-tA (The living one of the earth) as the bA of Osiris. The last episode shows eight armed deities with arrows, bows and spears, protecting the Sun-god’s path from the danger of the serpent nHA-Hr (Horrible of face). On the manuscript’s right-hand side we see the Twelfth Hour. Here, in order to complete Re's rejuvenation process, many gods and goddesses (of which are very fragmentary on the papyrus) tow the solar barque through the entire body of the life-regenerating serpent anx-nTr.w (Life of the gods). On the register’s far right-hand side, we see the accomplishment of this deed: a beetle known as Khepri, who is the Sun-god in his renewed form, exits the Netherworld by travelling through the outstretched arms of the air-god Shu to be reborn as the sun disk at dawn. Unfortunately, the last scenes are badly preserved and we only see the far right-end fragments adjoining the etiquette which show Shu’s outstretched arms and the newborn solar disk. On the manuscript’s far right-hand side, the etiquette shows the deceased, Padief, offering funerary supplies and a perfume burner to Osiris.
Hornung E., Das Amduat: die Schrift des verborgenen Raumes, Teil I–III (ÄA 7 und 13), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 1963-1967 (OEB10071-12422).
Hornung E., Texte Zum Amduat, Teil I-III: Kurzfassung und Langfassung, 1. bis 12. Stunde, Autographiert von Lotty Spycher und Barbara Lüscher (AH 13–15), Genève: Éditions de Belles-Lettres 1987–1994 (OEB 28504, 35567, 36111).
Niwinski A., Studies on the Illustrated Theban Funerary Papyri of the 11th and 10th Centuries B.C. (OBO 86), Fribourg / Göttingen: Universitätsverlag / Vandenhoeck Ruprecht 1989 (OEB 32792).
Sadek, A-A F., Contribution à l’étude de l’Amdouat: Les variantes tardives du Livre de l’Amdouat dans les papyrus du Musée du Caire (OBO 65), Freiburg / Göttingen: Universitätsverlag / Vandenhoeck Ruprecht 1985 (OEB 29751).
