The Book of the Dead: Ancient Egyptian Manuscripts in the J. Paul Getty Museum

This groundbreaking open-access catalogue offers an unprecedented view into the J. Paul Getty Museum’s remarkable Book of the Dead manuscripts.

For ancient Egyptians, death was not an end. It was a threshold to a new spiritual beginning and unification with the gods. The Book of the Dead was a collection of spells for protection against the unknown and passage to what came next. The J. Paul Getty Museum’s renowned collection of these religious manuscripts is unveiled through a catalogue illustrated with more than 200 images that reveal every brushstroke, hieroglyph, and vignette.

New hieroglyphic transcriptions, transliterations, translations, and commentary allow for a deeper appreciation of each object. Essays on theology, provenance, and conservation bring ancient Egyptian beliefs about death and the afterlife into vivid focus.

• The first comprehensive look at one of the largest collections of Book of the Dead manuscripts in the Western Hemisphere.
• Papyrus scrolls, linen wrappings, a faience ushabti figure, and a rare Late Ramesside letter are each examined in full.
• Created for scholars and curious readers alike, this publication spans more than a thousand years of ancient Egyptian history.

Explore the powerful guide the ancient Egyptians wrote for the next world and see these ancient manuscripts in ways never before possible.

The free online edition of this open-access publication is available at www.getty.edu/publications/book-of-the-dead/ and features zoomable, high-resolution illustrations, a bibliography, indices, and a glossary. Free PDF and EPUB editions are also available for download. This publication was created using Quire, a multiformat publishing tool from Getty.