N@tM 2023 Gallery

Photo

Book of the Dead

New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, probably reign of Thutmose III- reign of Amunhotep II.

1479-1400 B.C.E.

Long piece of paper that is brown and worn down displaying hieroglyphics all throughout and pieces of art throughout the paper.

What do you see going on in this work of art? Is there a story depicted?

The story is progressive, on the walls there translations of the hieroglyphics where you can tell that the story is read from the top to the bottom, and from the right to the left. The story is separated into 7 excerpts, all telling the story of Sobekmose.

What different visual elements (ie: line, color, light, proportions, scale, composition, media type etc.) do you notice, and how do they help you make sense of the artwork?

I see that the book of the dead is a very long paper that includes hieroglyphs of black and red color. We notice that the papyrus is worn down which emphasizes its travel through history. This tells us how important it was to communicate hieroglyphics during the time of 1400 B.C.E. Additionally, there are drawings all along the book. One of the drawings is of Horus, who gave the emperor the power to rule.

What choices do you think the museum made about the object’s display?

They placed the scripture in the center with all the sculptures around it. The text reflects all of the other visual elements of the exhibit. This is the end of the hallways thereby serving as the final destination, the same way this is writing about the afterlife.

Group Members

Name (first and last) Campus Seminar 1 Professor
Rebecca Fuzaylov Hunter College Justin Beal
Marjona Mirzaeva Hunter College Justin Beal
Samantha Chlafer Hunter College Susanna Cole
Margelin Liriano Hunter College Tomasch
Jana Mohamed Hunter College Tomasch