Book of the Dead of Neferoubenef
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1425–1349 B.C.
More than 3,400 years ago, an Egyptian royal chamberlain named Neferoubenef commissioned a beautifully illustrated Book of the Dead to accompany him into eternity. Today, twelve surviving fragments of this remarkable papyrus are preserved in the Louvre Museum, offering a vivid glimpse into how one man hoped to overcome the dangers of the afterlife and be reborn alongside the sun god.
Dating to the 18th Dynasty, around 1425–1349 B.C., the papyrus is written in elegant hieroglyphs and contains a selection of spells from the Book of the Dead; not a single fixed book, but a collection of sacred texts intended to guide the deceased safely through the Duat, the mysterious realm between death and eternal life.
What makes Neferoubenef’s papyrus especially captivating is its rich and sometimes puzzling artwork.
One vignette shows Neferoubenef leaning over a rectangular pool, cupping cool water in his hands. This illustration accompanies one of the spells ensuring that the deceased would never suffer from thirst.
Water represented life itself, and the ability to drink freely in the next world was considered one of the greatest blessings awaiting the justified dead.
One of the papyrus’s most enigmatic vignettes depicts three baboons hauling an elaborate fishing net, while Neferoubenef sits just behind them, seemingly perched upon the upper edge of the net or perhaps shown in the background according to the conventions of Egyptian art.
Although the scene resembles an everyday fishing expedition, its meaning is almost certainly symbolic. Baboons were sacred to Thoth and associated with the rising sun, suggesting they represent divine beings rather than ordinary animals.
The net itself may allude to the magical nets described in funerary literature, symbols of protection, cosmic order, or the overcoming of dangers during the deceased’s journey through the afterlife.
Another section depicts sacred emblems arranged upon shrines: the jackal of Anubis reclining watchfully upon his shrine, the Djed pillar symbolising stability, the tyet knot associated with Isis, and other powerful ritual objects.
Beside them, repeated figures of Thoth, with an ibis head, emphasising the continual ceremonies required to renew and protect the deceased.
These illustrations accompany spells now known by chapter numbers such as 54, 60, 61, 62, 110, 138, 151, 153, 155, 156 and 161, each intended to overcome a particular obstacle.
Some ensured that Neferoubenef could breathe, drink and move freely; others offered protection against dangerous beings, restored his senses, or united him with the gods.
Together they formed a spiritual handbook, equipping him with both the knowledge and divine assistance required to reach eternal life.
Although modern readers often refer to these manuscripts collectively as the Book of the Dead, the Ancient Egyptians knew them as the Book of Coming Forth by Day; a far more hopeful title. Rather than dwelling upon death itself, the text celebrates renewal: the soul emerging once more into the light, reborn each morning like the rising sun.
More than three millennia later, Neferoubenef’s papyrus still captures that extraordinary vision. Its colourful illustrations remind us that the Egyptian afterlife was imagined not as a place of silent darkness, but as a living landscape filled with sacred waters, divine guardians, mysterious rituals and the eternal promise of resurrection.
Summary:
Book of the Dead of the royal chamberlain Neferoubenef
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1425–1349 B.C.
Formerly in the collection of Antoine Barthélémy Clot, better known as Clot Bey. Musée du Louvre. N 3092 f 05 ; E 854 f 05
