<em>The Brooklyn Oracle Papyrus</em>, October 4, 651 B.C.E. Papyrus, pigment, ink, Overall: 10 15/16 × 210 5/16 in. (27.8 × 534.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Theodora Wilbour from the collection of her father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 47.218.3a-j (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 47.218.3a-j_SL1.jpg)

The Brooklyn Oracle Papyrus, October 4, 651 B.C.E. Papyrus, pigment, ink, Overall: 10 15/16 × 210 5/16 in. (27.8 × 534.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Theodora Wilbour from the collection of her father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 47.218.3a-j (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 47.218.3a-j_SL1.jpg)

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Brooklyn Oracle Papyrus: how is it that so much is known about the papyrus when there is so little of it actually pieced together? Amazing!

Ancient Egyptian art uses a lot of standardized conventions which is why Egyptologists can extrapolate so much from so little. There is also available information about the individuals depicted in this fragment of the papyrus, for example, second from the right is the Vizier Nespeqashuty whose tomb reliefs we have in our Mummy Chamber. There is also an extensive text that comes from the same document that isn't currently on view.

Why is this called the "Brooklyn Oracle Papyrus"?

This is called the Brooklyn Oracle Papyrus because it belongs to the Brooklyn Museum and is an oracle papyrus. It has long been a common practice in museums and other collectors worldwide to refer to things in this way.

Tell me more.

This papyrus records the petition of a man named Pemou on behalf of his father. His father was a priest to the god Amun-Re but he wanted to leave and join the temple of Montu-Re-Horakhty.

Temple staff were seen as divine so the gods had to be consulted about any change in staff! The men you see wearing leopard skins represent real, high-ranking priests whose names and titles were inscribed near their heads.

Can you tell me how we know about the date of this papyrus?

Yes I can! What you see in the gallery is the top portion of an official document from ancient Egypt. The document itself includes the date which it was penned. Scholars have determined that the date indicated corresponds to October 4, 651 BCE.

Like many ancient cultures, the ancient Egyptians counted years by how many years the current king reigned, by the reign of Psamtik I (who was king when this papyrus was signed) scholars are quite certain of the which years a given king reigned.

Scholars have also determined how the ancient Egyptian month system corresponds to our modern one. The 4th of October would be the 19th day of Hut-hor.

Thank you! That’s fascinating

The Brooklyn Oracle Papyrus

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

The Brooklyn Oracle Papyrus records the petition of a man named Pemou on behalf of his father, Harsiese. Harsiese was an ordinary priest in the service of the god Amun-Re at Karnak, but he wished to leave that god's service and join the priesthood of the neighboring temple of Montu-Re-Horakhty. Because temple personnel were seen as the property of the divinity, the god had to be consulted about any change in staff. Pemou asked for the god's advice on behalf of his father, and the god responded favorably. To record the verdict, Pemou had this papyrus drawn up and decorated.

The papyrus shows the procession of a image of Amun-Re, the fragments of whose shrine can be seen above the carrying poles borne by the priests. Above the shrine appear two ostrich-feather fans shading the god from the sun. In front of the priestly file stand the highestranking members of the Theban priesthood, all dressed in leopard-skin costumes with their respective names and titles written on their shoulder sashes.

The figure closest to and facing the shrine is Montuemhat, Fourth Prophet of Amun-Re. Although Montuemhat did not hold the highest title of the Theban pffesthood, he was Mayor of Thebes, thus serving in one of the highest posItions of power in southern Egypt. He had many exceptionally fine sculptures of himself made and built one of the largest tombs in the Theban necropolis. Some of the reliefs from Montuemhat's tomb are shown in a nearby vitrine.

The figure with the ostrich plumes on his head is the chief lector priest, reading aloud the processional ritual written on the papyrus roll he holds before him. The next-to-last figure on the right is the vizier Nespeqashuty, the highest official in the land, wearing the costume of his office, a high skirt with halter straps. Many reliefs from his tomb can be seen in the installation Temples, Tombs, and the Egyptian Universe. The figure behind him is most likely the petitioner Pemou or his father Harsiese.

After the papyrus was drawn up, fifty priests who had witnessed the events signed it. The fragment here contains the signatures, titles, and genealogies of six of those officials, including those of Montuemhat and Nespeqashuty. Each of the officials penned his own entry, as the variety of handwriting in this section of the papyrus attests.

MEDIUM Papyrus, pigment, ink

Possible Place Made: Thebes (Karnak), Egypt

DATES October 4, 651 B.C.E.

DYNASTY Dynasty 26

PERIOD Late Period, Saite Period

DIMENSIONS Overall: 10 15/16 × 210 5/16 in. (27.8 × 534.2 cm) a: Frame: 17 1/8 x 50 3/8 in. (43.5 x 128 cm) a: Largest Fragment: 11 1/4 x 12 11/16 in. (28.5 x 32.3 cm) 1.frag.47.218.3a: Frame: 1 1/8 x 6 1/8 in. (2.9 x 15.5 cm) 1.frag.47.218.3a: Largest Fragment: 13/16 x 1 1/2 in. (2.1 x 3.8 cm) 2.frag.47.218.3a: Small Box of Fragments: 1 3/4 x 4 1/16 x 4 (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 47.218.3a-j

CREDIT LINE Bequest of Theodora Wilbour from the collection of her father, Charles Edwin Wilbour

PROVENANCE Archaeological provenance not yet documented, probably from the Temple of Karnak, Egypt; by 1896, collected in Egypt by Charles Edwin Wilbour; by 1896, gift of Charles Edwin Wilbour to Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, by inheritance; 1914, gift of Charlotte Beebe Wilbour to Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour, by inheritance; 1947, gift of Theodora Wilbour to the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Hieratic papyrus inscribed, in black ink, on recto only. The papyrus contains a single large vignette, text description and fifty witness entries. The painting of procession of shrine of Re (?) preceded by priests and officials (A and B). Seventeen of the witness entries are written in “normal” hieratic, twenty-seven in abnormal hieratic, and six in what appears to be a mixture of the two. The text and witnesses entries extend over fifteen columns of text. Condition: Incomplete.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view on the 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION The Brooklyn Oracle Papyrus, October 4, 651 B.C.E. Papyrus, pigment, ink, Overall: 10 15/16 × 210 5/16 in. (27.8 × 534.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Theodora Wilbour from the collection of her father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 47.218.3a-j (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 47.218.3a-j_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 47.218.3a-j_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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