For press inquiries related to this exhibition, please email siriarte@getty.edu
The Egyptian Book of the Dead
Exhibition
Papyrus of Pasherashakhet (detail), Egyptian, about 375–275 BC. Ink on papyrus. Getty Museum. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Kraus
Among their rigorous preparations for eternity, ancient Egyptians developed an intricate set of religious writings to help the deceased achieve a blessed afterlife in union with the solar god Re and the netherworld god Osiris. Known collectively as the Book of the Dead, these ritual spells were inscribed on funerary objects. This exhibition, previously shown in 2023, features Getty's Book of the Dead manuscripts, illuminating how ancient Egyptians understood the cosmos, the world of the gods, and the nature of existence.
This exhibition is presented in English and Spanish. Esta exposición se muestra en inglés y en español.
Partners and Sponsors
Generous support from
Selected Works
Mummy Wrapping of Petosiris, Son of Tetosiris (detail)
Egyptian, 332–100 BCE. Ink on linen. Getty Museum. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Kraus
Papyrus of Pasherashakhet (detail)
Egyptian, about 375–275 BCE. Ink on papyrus. Getty Museum. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Kraus
Papyrus of Ankhesenaset (detail)
Egyptian, about 1069–900 BCE. Ink on papyrus. Getty Museum. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Kraus
Mummy Wrapping of Petosiris, Son of Nanesbastet (detail)
Egyptian, about 300–100 BCE. Ink on linen. Getty Museum. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Kraus
Papyrus of Pasherashakhet (detail)
Egyptian, about 375–275 BCE. Ink on papyrus. Getty Museum. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Kraus
Papyrus of Pasherashakhet (detail)
Egyptian, about 375–275 BCE. Ink on papyrus. Getty Museum. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Kraus
Mummy Wrapping of Petosiris, Son of Tetosiris (detail)
Egyptian, 332–100 BCE. Ink on linen. Getty Museum. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. P. Kraus
Contact
Media Contact: Shannon Iriarte
Related Tours
Featured Video : A Mummy Wrapping of Petosiris: A Two-Thousand-Year Journey
Learn about the inscribed mummy wrappings of an ancient Egyptian man named Petosiris and their history to the present.
Publications
Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt
Edited by Foy Scalf
$34.95
Learn more about this publication
The Oxford Handbook of the Egyptian Book of the Dead
Edited by Rita Lucarelli and Martin Andreas Stadler
$160
Learn more about this publicationExhibition Resources
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To request a checklist of this exhibition, please contact: antiquities@getty.edu
Exhibition checklist
Translating Petosiris's Wrapping
PDF
Read the inscriptions, imagery, and spells on this 2,000-year-old piece of linen
The Getty Book of the Dead
Online exhibition
(opens in new tab)Explore papyri and mummy wrappings from the Book of the Dead, which provided instructions for the soul’s journey through the netherworld
The Egyptian Book of the Dead—for the Living
Event recording
(opens in new tab)Egyptologists examine the ways the Book of the Dead assisted the deceased’s transition to the afterlife and served as a book for the living
Art Break: “Unwrapping” the Book of the Dead at the Getty
Event recording
(opens in new tab)Egyptologist Heba Abd el Gawad and curatorial assistant Judith Barr discuss the treatment of mummified human remains from the 1800s to today