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Descrizione raffigurazione

The manuscript’s visual representation describes the Sun-god Re's nocturnal journey through the Tenth and Eleventh Hours of the night. The treatise's visual model does not resemble the prototype established that decorates the 18th Dynasty royal burial chambers in the Valley of the Kings. The scribe arranges the scenes without following the treatise’s standard protocol and presents the episodes according to his discretion. Therefore, several deities are missing from these scenes (deities 710-713, 733-740, 749-751 in the Tenth Hour and deities 775, 780-782, 794-797, 814-816 in the Eleventh). The treatise's structure consists of two horizontal registers presenting Re, in his nocturnal shape as a ram-headed deity, travelling on the solar boat through the last netherworld regions. On the manuscript’s left-hand side, in the top register, the Tenth Hour presents four mummiform deities in charge of stripping the corpses and tearing the bandages off of Re’s enemies. In the bottom register, there are four deities with bows protecting the Sun-god’s path from the danger of the serpent nHA-Hr (Horrible of face). Under the solar barque, the Tenth Hour's last scene shows the goddess iar.t (Uraeus-serpent) and Seth’s crook, of whose task it is to brighten the path of those inhabiting the Netherworld. The scribe then arranges five columns of text, introducing the Eleventh Hour. This forms a vertical element that separates the Tenth Hour from the Eleventh. In the manuscript’s centre, the Eleventh Hour presents eight deities towing the solar barque and carrying the serpent Mehen over their shoulders. The barque crew consists of seven deities: psD.t-dwA.t (The shining one of the Netherworld), As.t (Isis), nb.t-wiA (Lady of the bark), iwf (Flesh), mHn (Mehen), and two anonymous gods. Along with Seth’s crook, the bottom register presents one of the Netherworld’s apotropaic features where Horus’ hypostasis orders the destruction and annihilation of the hostile forces that interfere with establishing the natural order (Cfr. the Maat principle). The serpent st-HH.w (He who burns millions), one lion-headed goddess and three anthropomorphic fire-spitting and knife-wielding goddesses slaughter Re’s enemies over their fire-pits. On the manuscript’s far right-hand side, the etiquette shows the deceased, Nesamun, son of Paneferher, offering funerary supplies and lotus flowers to Osiris.