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These fragments were stored and preserved by the Champollion-Figeac family over the last two centuries. The papyrus collection of the Champollion museum (département de l’Isère, Vif, France) contains 280 fragments, the largest ones showing illustrations identified as scenes from the Book of the Dead (Fig. Different hues such as pink were generally obtained by mixing the relevant pigments. The base pigments reported in the literature include Egyptian blue and Egyptian green (based on cuprorivaite CaCuSi 4O 10 and (cupro)wollastonite ((Cu),Ca) 3Si 3O 9), green malachite (Cu 2CO 3(OH) 2), red hematite (α-Fe 2O 3), realgar (As 4S 4) and cinnabar (HgS), white calcite (CaCO 3), gypsum (CaSO 4♲H 2O), huntite (Mg 3Ca(CO 3) 4) and lead white (a mix of cerussite PbCO 3 and hydrocerussite (PbCO 3) 2 Specialized craftsmen, different from the scribe writing the main text, were most probably in charge of the illustrations, another indication of standardization.
A similar procedure to illustrate papyruses is generally assumed, and only mentioned in a few studies 2. The main steps involve the realization of a preliminary drawing to position the different elements of the illustration, the coloring of these different elements, and the drawing of the final contours. Indeed, owning a “Book of the Dead” was essential to prepare for entering the afterlife, and consequently its confection and final appearance scaled with the social position of the owner 2.Ī highly standardized illustration process was developed during the New Kingdom period and extensively applied to mural paintings 3. Among the illustrated papyruses, funerary documents, massively produced from the New Kingdom until the end of the Roman period, occupy a special place. Colored illustrations occupying large portions of papyrus documents flourished during the New Kingdom period, giving a new importance to these images with vivid colors, seen as a new way to disseminate information 2.
#Ancient egyptian scrolls series
The first referenced illustrations were found in a series of administrative documents from the 5th and the 6th dynasties, with the addition by the scribe of descriptive images to support the text 2. The first occurrence of papyrus used as a support for communication dates from the first dynasty, with the discovery of a blank roll in the tomb of Hemaka (3200 BC) 1. These results enhance our knowledge of illustrative practices in Ancient Egypt.Ī large number of written and illustrated papyruses from ancient Egypt have survived through the ages, carrying stories, practices, and numerous details of the everyday life in Egypt several millennia ago. In some parts, the final contour significantly differs from the preliminary drawing, revealing the artist’s creativity. Interestingly, specific pigment mixes were deliberately chosen to obtain different shades. The standardized three-step process from the New Kingdom period was used, comprising a preparatory drawing made of red hematite, a coloring step using pigments from the Egyptian palette, and a final black contour drawn with a carbon-based ink. The nature of the different pigments and their distribution are revealed by combining optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction and fluorescence. We have investigated a series of illustrated papyruses from Champollion’s private collection showing scenes from the Book of the Dead, a document essential to prepare for the afterlife. Illustrated papyruses from Ancient Egypt have survived across millennia, depicting with vivid colors numerous stories and practices from a distant past.
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