• 1 Ronsecco 1996, pl. XXXVff; Caminos 1970, pp. 117–131; Dorman 2019, pp. 19–53. Overall characteristi (...)
• 2 The photos of this object are published here for the first time. The authors are grateful to the Ge (...)
• 3 According to Kockelmann 2008, II, p. 91; two major types of mummy wrappings illustrated with the Bo (...)

1Mummy bandages are the second most common medium on which the Book of the Dead was written, after papyri. The origin of such use dates to the beginning of the New Kingdom, when large funerary shrouds bore texts and illustrations.1 Many bandages are housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, including the unpublished Cairo JE 7638 (SR 2169) that is the topic of this essay.2 It is now stored in the fourth Department of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The state of its preservation is generally good with the material still being stable, and it is kept rolled (pl. 1).3 Hence, it is hoped that the presentation of Cairo SR 7638 (SR 2169) will contribute to the growing library of funerary editions of that time.

• 4 E.g. Lepsius 1842, pl. XLII, LVII; Barguet 1967, p. 84; Mosher 2001, pl. 6, 19.1; Gasse 2001, pl. I (...)
• 5 Kockelmann 2008, I/1, pl. 6–7, 24, 34, 51.
• 6 Mosher 1990, p. 636; pl. 21; Mosher 2016a, pp. 457–458.
• 7 Mosher 2016a, pp. 414, 419, 423, 457.

5The deceased, with a short wig, facing left, is shown in a kneeling position, hands raised in a gesture of adoration before Re/Re-Harakhte. In front of the deceased is a table, on which is mounted a vase (ḥs or nmst) with a spout for libations, and a lotus blossom (fig. 1). This scene is typical of the vignettes of various BD spells of the late tradition4 on papyri as well as mummy bandages.5 The god holds the wȝs-scepter and is oriented to the right, facing the human figure. The motif of human worship to Re/Re-Harakhte goes back to the vignettes of BD 15 (scene 1)6 (figs. 2–3) and directly illustrates the opening sentence passage (ỉnk) Śnw pwy ʿȝ nty m Ỉwnw ỉnk ỉry śỉpty n nty wn […] – “The adoration of Re-Harakhte” in parts of the solar hymns of this spell.7

• 8 See Baines 1985.
• 9 GSL = Gardiner’s Sign List (Gardiner 1957, pp. 442–548).
• 10 See Mosher 1990, p. 642, pl. 32–39; Milde 1991, p. 34 (VII); Díaz-Iglesias Llanos 2005, passim; Tar (...)
• 11 But cf. Díaz-Iglesias Llanos 2005, pp. 36–37.

6A seated god of the Hapi or ‘Fertility Figure’8 type, in front of which two pr-symbols • (GSL9 O1) are drawn (fig. 4). This figure comes from the long episodic scene of BD 17. In the typical representations of this scene one finds lake signs š  / (GSL N37/39)10 (figs. 5–9), but here they were misunderstood as pr-signs.11 We should note the closeness of this figure to the vignette in the Saite Period pCologne Aeg. 10207 (fig. 5), as well as the iconography of the Theban Redaction of the BD (figs. 7–9), where the signs š are always clearly outlined. This scene illustrates the following excerpt from BD 17:

• 12 After pCologne Aeg. 10207 (Verhoeven 1993, II, p. 11* (8.10–8.11)). The text in Theban Redaction: w (...)

7This N is born in the great large Lake that is in Heracleopolis in the Offering Day by rekhyt-people to this God – Great God, who is there. Who is he? ‘Leader of the Millions’ is the name of one, Wadj-wer is the name of the other. This is the ‘Lake of Natron’ together with the ‘Lake of Truth’.12

• 13 Lapp 2006, pp. 81–82.
• 14 CT IV, pp. 216c, 217c.
• 15 Cf. Díaz-Iglesias Llanos 2005, pp. 36–37.

8So, the deity in the drawing is Wadj-wer (lit. “Great Green”). The gloss specifies the name of the lakes (in Theban Redaction sš.wy – “Two Lakes”) with which the deity is associated and which are symbolically depicted: the ‘Lake of Natron’ and the ‘Lake of Truth’. It is characteristic that both in BD 17,13 and in its primary source, Spell 335 of the Coffin Texts (CT),14 the name ‘Lake of Truth’ (š(ʿ) n mȝʿ.t) is in most cases written with a determinative   (GSL O1).15 Perhaps the substitution of signs / for  on the considered Cairo mummy bandage is explained by this very fact. In this case, the artist who created this drawing must have been well acquainted with the text of the spell.

• 16 See in details Mosher 1990, p. 641; pl. 32–39; Tarasenko 2007, pp. 77–122. Cf. Kockelmann 2008, I/1 (...)
• 17 Tarasenko  2007, pp.  94–95, 100–101, 114–122. See also Tarasenko  2011, pp.  71–87; Tarasenko  201 (...)
• 18 Allen 1974, p. 26, n. 47 (3); Milde 1991, p. 33 (IV); Tarasenko 2020, p. 136.

9Scene 3 is the so-called Rw.ty-scene with lions of the horizon, depicting two seated diametrically oriented lions holding on their backs the ‘horizon’ symbol –   ȝḫ.t (GSL N27) (fig. 10). Like the previous scene, this scene also comes from BD 17,16 which also became an independent motive during the 21st Dynasty17 (figs. 11–13). The identification of this scene with the text of the spell is indisputable.18

• 19 The motive of the worship of the deceased to groups of various deities can also be seen on the vign (...)
• 20 Wilkinson 2003, pp. 178–179.
• 21 Mosher 1990, p. 661; Mosher 2016b, pp. 100–120; Milde 1991, pp. 60–61.

10This scene depicts the deceased facing left, sitting in an adoration position. In front of him is an offering table with a vessel and a lotus (cf. scene 1). Further, six deities19 are shown facing right (fig. 14). The first god depicted sitting on a hill is Atum. The rest of the deities are standing with a wȝs-scepter in their left hand and the sign of life (ʿnḫ) in their right. These are a god with the head of an ibis (Thoth), a god with the head of a falcon (Horus), an anthropomorphic goddess (?), a goddess with a snake’s head (Waudjet), a god with a lion’s head (Maahes20 or a guardian demon?). Apparently, this composition could date back to the illustrations in BD 18, depicting the worship of the deceased to various local groups of deities: Heliopolis, Abydos, Busiris, Paths of the Dead, Pe and Dep, Great Plowing, Rosetau21 (figs. 15–16). Apparently, this drawing is synthetic and includes images of divine representatives of various local cult groups from BD 18.

• 22 Milde 1991, p. 60; Mosher 1990, p. 661; Mosher 2016b, p. 101.
• 23 Mosher 1990, p. 772, pl. 125; Mosher 2018b, pp. 312–313. Cf. Milde 1991, p. 60; Quirke 2013, p. 237 (...)
• 24 Verhoeven 1993, I, p. 48. The motive of stairs is known also on BD 110 and 118 vignettes.

11The image of the first god in the group, depicted sitting on a hill, is unusual (fig. 14). Apparently, we are dealing here with a cosmogonic motive here: Atum on the Primeval Hill. There is no direct analogy among the vignettes of BD 18 known to us, although Atum himself is included in the number of deities depicted there – he is the first in the group of the gods of Heliopolis.22 The figures of the deities sitting on the hill can be seen on the vignettes of BD 10823 (fig. 17). On the other hand, among the BD 17 vignettes in pCologne Aeg. 10207 (26th Dynasty), there is a rare scene showing a solar deity on the semantic equivalent of the Primeval Hill: the stairs  (GSL O40)24 (fig. 18). It is possible that this image originated from BD 17 pectoral repertoire too.

• 25 Cf. Backes 2005, p. 68.
• 26 Milde 1991, p. 60; Mosher 1990, p. 661; Mosher 2016b, p. 101.

12Also atypical is the image of the lion-headed god (Maahes or guardian demon?). We do not know the images of Maahes on the BD vignettes, and he is not mentioned in the BD text of the late tradition.25 On the other hand, the goddess Tefnut is depicted with a lion’s head on the vignettes of BD 18 (in the group of the gods of Heliopolis).26 Perhaps the artist made and drew a male figure with a lion’s head instead of a female figure. Thus, scene 4 on the mummy bandage Cairo JE 7638 (SR 2169) is derived from BD 17 (image of the first deity) and BD 18 (with obvious errors).

• 27 Mosher 1990, pl. 37–39, 50–51, 207, 210; Mosher 2016b, p. 386; Quirke 2013, pp. 67–68, 97, 357–358. (...)
• 28 See a number of examples in Mosher 2016b, pp. 398–431.
• 29 For a summary of 14 papyri showing a scarab with the šn-sign on BD 30 vignettes, see Mosher 2016b, (...)
• 30 Mosher 2016b, p. 398. Cf. Quirke 2013, p. 97.

13The image of a scarab  (ḫpr, GSL L1) above the šn-symbol (GSL V29) is drawn (fig. 19). The motif of the scarab is represented on the vignettes of BD Chapters 17, 29, 30, 34, and 149 of the late BD tradition.27 The closest in iconography to the scene on the mummy bandage Cairo JE 7638 (SR 2169) are the vignettes of BD 30,28 as, in particular, in pVatican 48832 (26th Dynasty) (fig. 20) or pParis BN 14129 (Saite to Ptolemaic period) (fig. 21). This Chapter has a title rubric: r n tm rdỉt ḫsf.tw ḥȝty n s r⸗f m ẖrt-nṯr – “Spell for not allowing that the breast of a man be contending against him in the necropolis.”30

• 31 See: http://totenbuch.awk.nrw.de/motiv/Affen__Paviane_.
• 32 Lepsius 1842, pl. L; Mosher 1990, pl. 151, 153–154, 156–157, 159–168.
• 33 Lepsius 1842, pl. LI; Mosher 1990, pl. 170; Quirke 2013, p. 277.
• 34 Lepsius 1842, pl. VI, IX–X; Mosher 1990, pl. 22–31, 34–39; Quirke 2013, p. 67.
• 35 Wb I, 496–497 (“Urgott”).
• 36 After pCologne Aeg. 10207 (Verhoeven 1993, II, pp. 15* (12.1), 16* (12.5–12.6). The text in Theban (...)

14Two baboons adore a boat on both sides, in which a solar deity sits, oriented to the right (fig. 22). In the late BD tradition, the baboon motif is represented on vignettes in three contexts:31 a) baboons, as participants in the afterlife judgment of souls (BD 125);32 b) baboons near the ‘Lake of Fire’ (BD 126);33 c) baboons in the solar compositions worshiping a solar deity (BD 15/16, 17).34 At the same time, only on BD 17, baboons adore the sun boat (fig. 23), and thus, this scene on the mummy bandage Cairo JE 7638 (SR 2169) goes back to the iconography of BD 17 and illustrates the following lines: […]ỉ Ḫprỉ ḥry-ỉb wỉȝ⸗f pȝwty ḏt⸗f ḏt […] ỉr Ḫprỉ ḥry-ỉb wỉȝ⸗f Rʿ pw ḏs⸗f ỉr nw n ỉryw śỉpw bnt.wy pw – “[…] Oh, Khepry, who is in his boat, Primordial,35 whose flesh is eternity! [...] It is Khepry in his boat. It is Re himself. As for these judges, they are two baboons.”36

• 37 See http://totenbuch.awk.nrw.de/motiv/Osiris_gestaltig_.
• 38 Mosher 2016b, p. 105. The scene for the Great Council of Rosetau showing Osiris (sometimes enthrone (...)
• 39 Mosher 2016b, p. 191.
• 40 Quirke 2013, p. 81; Mosher 2016b, p. 176.

15The deceased, oriented to the left, sits in an adoration posture. In front of him is shown a sacrificial table with a vessel and a lotus (cf. scenes 1 and 4). In front of him, on a throne, facing to the right, sits Osiris wearing a ȝtf-crown with a ḥḳȝ-scepter and a “fly swatter” (nḫḫw) in his hands (fig. 24). The motive of worshiping Osiris, the Lord of the Afterworld, is represented in illustrations of at least twenty BD spells.37 At the same time, Osiris, seated on the throne, is shown on BD 18 (scene 10 by M. Mosher),38 21, 110, and 125 vignettes. The closest to the drawing on mummy bandage Cairo JE 7638 (SR 2169) is the iconography of BD 21 (version 2 by M. Mosher), showing the worship of Osiris seated on the throne in seven papyri39 (fig. 25). This spell has a title rubric: r n rdỉ r n s n⸗f m ẖrt-nṯr – “Spell for giving the mouth of a man to him in the necropolis.”40

• 41 Gardiner 1957, p. 470 (G31); cf. Wyatt 2020, pp. 479–480.
• 42 LGG II, pp. 795–797; Backes 2005, p. 55.
• 43 See in details Mosher 1990, pl. 32–39, 102; Mosher 2018a, pp. 182–185. See also Bailleul-Lesuer (ed (...)
• 44 After pCologne Aeg. 10207 (26th Dyn.) (Verhoeven 1993, II, p. 10* (8.4). Cf. Grapow 1917, p. 17, fi (...)
• 45 BD Chapters 76–88. See Servajean 2003; Lüscher 2006.
• 46 Lepsius 1842, pl. XXXI; Mosher 2018a, pp. 175–181; Servajean 2003, p. 70; Quirke 2013, p. 196.

16This scene shows the image of the Benu-bird, oriented to the right (fig. 26). The Benu-bird or a “phoenix” (  Bnw, GSL G31), i.e. the heron Ardea cinerea or Ardea purpurea41, is repeatedly mentioned in the BD.42 In the late pictoral tradition of the collection, it is represented as an independent character on the vignettes of BD 17 and 8343 (figs. 27–31). In the first case, this is the sacred bird of Heliopolis: (ỉnk) Śnw pwy ʿȝ nty m Ỉwnw ỉnk ỉry śỉpty n nty wn […] – “I am this great Benu, who is in Heliopolis, I am in charge of all existing.”44 In the second case, the spell (part of a so-called “transformation spells” or Verwandlungssprüche)45 allows the deceased to take the forms of a Benu bird n ḫpr.w m Bnw – “Spell for making the shapes of a Benu.”46 The orientation of a bird on a mummy bandage Cairo JE 7638 (SR 2169) allows us to match the drawing with the vignette of BD 83.

• 47 See http://totenbuch.awk.nrw.de/motiv/Horuss_hne; Mosher 1990, pl. 32–39; Mosher 2018a, p. 116.
• 48 Mosher 2016b, pp. 322, 325–326, 333–335.
• 49 Quirke 2013, p. 91; Mosher 2016b, p. 310.

17Here are representend the four seated figures of the Children of Horus (ms.w Ḥrw), oriented to the right (from right to left): Hapi with the head of a baboon, Kebehsenuf with the head of a falcon, Duamutef with the head of a jackal, and Amset with the head of a man. Deities hold wȝs-scepters (fig. 32). The motive of the Children of Horus in the late BD tradition is illustrated in spells 17, 27, 79, 125, 126, and 14847. However, these four deities are shown in a sitting position only on the vignettes of BD 27 (version 1 by Malcolm Mosher)48 (r n tm rdỉt ỉṯ.tw ỉb n s m-ʿ⸗f m ẖrt-nṯr – “Spell for not allowing the heart of a man to be taken away from him in the Necropolis”) (figs. 33–34).49 Apparently, the scene 9 on the bandage Cairo JE 7638 (SR 2169) should be attributed to this spell, although on the vignettes of BD 27 the order of the deities is different (from right to left: Amset, Hapi, Duamutef, Kebehsenuf) and they do not have wȝs-scepters.

• 50 See in details Mosher 2017, pp. 233–250.
• 51 Mosher 2017, p. 230; Quirke 2013, pp. 201–202.

18An image of a swallow (  mnt GSL G36), oriented to the right, sitting on a hill or the hieroglyphic sign t (GSL X1) is drawn (fig. 35). This scene goes back to the vignette of BD 86 (figs. 36–37),50 another spell from the so-called “Spells of transformations”: r n ỉr ḫpr n mnt – “Spell for making the shape of a swallow.”51

• 52 See in details Mosher 2017, pp. 412–422, 428. Cf. Kockelmann 2008, I/1, pl. 25; I/2, pl. 67.
• 53 Mosher 2017, p. 412; Quirke 2013, p. 177.

19The deceased, oriented to the right, with a staff in his left hand and a handkerchief in his right hand, stands in front of the symbol of Heliopolis  Ỉwn (GSL O28) (fig. 38). This scene represents the BD 75 vignette (its version 1 by M. Mosher) (figs. 39–40).52 The Chapter is headed: r n šm r Ỉwnw r šsp st ỉm – “Spell for setting out for Heliopolis in order to receive a seat there.”53

• 54 See in details Mosher 2018a, pp. 146–153. Cf. Kockelmann 2008, I/1, pl. 27; I/2, pl. 73.
• 55 Mosher 2018a, p. 145; Quirke 2013, p. 192.

20A human head oriented to the right emerging from the lotus flower is represented (fig. 41). This drawing represents the vignette of BD 81 (its version 1 by M. Mosher),54 which is also one of the “Spells of transformations” (figs. 42–43). The figure illustrates the title rubric of the spell: r n ỉrt ḫprw rn sšn – “Spell for making a shape af a lotus.”55

• 56 See http://totenbuch.awk.nrw.de/motiv/Schlange.
• 57 Lepsius 1842, pl. XXVII, LXXVIII; Mosher 1990, pl. 93, 163; Mosher 2017, pp. 395–411; Quirke 2013, (...)
• 58 Lepsius 1842, pl. LXII; Mosher 1990, pl. 207–210; Milde 1990, pp. 113–126; Quirke 2013, pp. 357–358
• 59 This name can be translated as “area”, “district”, “possession”, “island”, “mound”, etc. (Wb I, 26, (...)
• 60 Quirke 2013, p. 362.
• 61 Ward 1969, p. 136. For the Egyptian image of the winged serpent in a Middle Eastern context, see al (...)
• 62 Ward 1969, p. 136. See Hornung 2000, pp. 1–20.
• 63 The pJumilhac shows Horsaisis with four wings (Vandier 1956, p. 252, pl. II).
• 64  E.g. Sauneron 1970, pp. 23–26, figs. 2−3 (pBrooklyn 47.218.156); Golenischeff 1877, pl. V (XXI) (“ (...)

21The picture shows a serpent (cobra) with human legs and two pairs of wings (fig. 44). Images of serpents are found on the vignettes of many BD spells (17, 33, 35, 37, 39, 40, 41, 74, 87, 107, 109, 146, 149, 150, 163).56 The motive of a serpent with human legs is known on the vignettes of BD 74 and 163 of the late tradition,57 and the motive of a winged serpent with human legs is represented on BD 149 vignettes58 (fig. 45). Here it is drawn in a so-called Tenth Iat (ỉȝ.t, ỉȝw.t), i.e. the “district/mound” of the Underworld,59 and apparently shows the Nʿw-serpent, mentioned among the inhabitants of this Iat.60 Thus, scene 13 on the mummy bandage Cairo JE 7638 (SR 2169) can be associated with one of the illustrations of BD 149. But it should be noted that the cobra/uraeus ( , , GSL I12) is shown on the bandage. It has four wings. The visual image of the winged serpent/uraeus was formed in Egypt during the New Kingdom.61 In particular, the image of a serpent with four wings can be seen on the coffin of Seti I (fig. 46). Since the 26th Dynasty, the image of universal pantheist deities,62 depicted, among other, with two pairs of parallel wings, such as Bes Pantheos or Hormerti,63 who are often represented with a serpent with human legs and arms, became widespread.64

• 65 Lepsius 1842, pl. I, LVII, LXXIV; Mosher 1990, pl. 17–20, 184, 214; Quirke 2013, pp. 4, 315, 367–36 (...)

22The picture shows a jackal, oriented to the right, lying on the shrine; above hum is a nḫḫw-symbol ( GSL S45) (fig. 47). In the late BD tradition, the jackal motive is represented on the vignettes of spells 1, 140, and 151.65 This motive is the most characteristic for the vignettes of BD 151 (figs. 48–49), which gives us a reason to link this scene on the mummy bandage Cairo JE 7638 (SR 2169) with the illustrations of this spell.

• 66 See https://www.trismegistos.org/nam/detail.php?record=952; PN I, p. 136.8.
• 67 See https://www.trismegistos.org/nam/detail.php?record=13877. Fixed in pBerlin P. 11336 (pHauswaldt (...)
• 68 See https://www.trismegistos.org/nam/detail.php?record=15642; PN I, p. 361.19.

24The name of the owner of mummy bandage Cairo JE 7638 (SR 2169) in the inscription is Psamtik (Psmṯk, Gr. Ψαμμητιχος). It has been widely used since the 26th Dynasty (Trismegistos Database TM 952)66. At the same time, the name of the mother of the owner of the bandage, Ta-heret (Tȝ-ḥrṯ), is rather rare and has no direct analogy. The names closest to it are known in the forms Tȝ-ḥrr (Trismegistos Database TM 13877)67 and Tȝ-ḥrṯ-ỉb (Trismegistos Database TM 15642).68

• 69 See Quirke 1999, pp. 37–66.

26First, the name Psamtik (Psmṯk) is characteristic to the 26th Dynasty (but on the other hand, it is also known from later times)69. Three kings of this dynasty bore this name, which contributed to its spread among the Egyptian people.