Overview of Niwiński’s Typology of Theban Funerary Papyri
| Type | Format (height/length) | Script (what occurs) | Layout / registers | Iconography (what you see) | Text content / function | Typical features | Nuance / remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BD.I.1 | Narrow (c. 15–25 cm high), often short | Hieratic or cursive hieroglyphs; script not diagnostic | One continuous text area; no real registers | Hardly any vignettes; at most a few small figures | Selected BD‑chapters; no Amduat | Compact text roll with BD texts and almost no imagery | Boundary with BD.I.2 can be fluid; classification depends heavily on presence and amount of illustration. |
| BD.I.2 | Narrow (c. 15–25 cm high), often short (< 1 m) | Hieratic or cursive hieroglyphs | One text area, no division into registers | Normally completely unillustrated; sometimes only a (substitute) label | BD‑chapters in selection; purely BD‑text | “Bare” BD text roll, explicitly unillustrated | Overlaps in function with other non‑illustrated religious rolls; assigned here only where BD content is clear. |
| BD.II.1 | Broader (c. 20–35+ cm), often several metres long | Hieratic and/or cursive hieroglyphs | One main register with a fixed text–vignette schema | Classical BD vignettes (e.g. 125, 110, transformations) in recognisable sequence | Fairly stable, stereotyped sequence of BD‑chapters | Richly illustrated BD roll with one large picture/text register following a fixed pattern | Forms the “normative” illustrated BD type of the period; borderline cases drift toward BD.II.2 or BD.III. |
| BD.II.2 | Comparable to BD.II.1 | Hieratic and/or cursive hieroglyphs | Same general model, but its own composition schema | BD vignettes, but combinations and positions differ from BD.II.1 | Its own internally consistent BD‑chapter sequence | BD.II‑like rolls whose chapter sequence matches the BD.II.2 schema | Visual appearance alone can be misleading; content and order of chapters are decisive for this subtype. |
| BD.III.1a | Broad, often long rolls (c. 21–30+ cm, several metres) | Mostly cursive hieroglyphs (sometimes with hieratic notes) | Several horizontal registers (semi‑horizontal composition) | Very rich, polychrome BD vignettes: e.g. 125, 130, 148–150, 186, celestial cow, transformations | Extensive BD corpus with strongly developed solar‑Osirian theology | High‑quality, colourful BD roll; label almost always present | Represents the fully developed “Renaissance” BD; can overlap visually with A.III.1‑papyri. |
| BD.III.1b | Same order of size as 1a | Mostly cursive hieroglyphs | Several registers / semi‑horizontal | BD vignettes, but fewer or simpler; more text areas without images | BD‑chapters present, but less extensive than in 1a | More modest variant of BD.III.1a; clearly less dense and less rich | Boundary with BD.III.1a is gradual; the split partly reflects qualitative judgement rather than hard rules. |
| BD.III.2 | Slightly unusual formats | Mostly cursive hieroglyphs | Variant of BD.III composition | BD vignettes in alternative configurations | BD text and vignettes, but not fitting the 1a/1b pattern | “Remainder” category for BD.III‑like papyri with their own composition | Indicates that the manuscript follows the BD.III “idea” but does not conform to the main sub‑patterns. |
| A.I.1 | Long horizontal roll; narrow to medium height | Cursive hieroglyphs (sometimes with hieratic elements) | One continuous band‑like register | Solar iconography (Re/Horakhty‑Atum, solar bark, sometimes litany‑like sequences), little or no Amduat hours | Hymns and liturgical texts for Re/Horakhty/Atum etc.; no “classical” Amduat narrative | Early A‑papyrus in the BD + A double system, carrying the solar/theological component instead of the Amduat | Classified as A because of its royal‑solar function; it shows that “A‑papyri” are not identical with Amduat copies. |
| A.I.2 | Likewise long horizontal roll | Cursive hieroglyphs | Band‑like composition, more compact than A.I.1 | Predominantly solar iconography; possibly a few underworld motifs, but no full Amduat cycle | Shorter or variant solar hymns; any Amduat elements, if present, are secondary | Variant within the same “solar” A‑group as A.I.1 | Continues the litany‑type tradition in a more condensed format; bridges towards mixed solar–underworld papyri. |
| A.II.1a | Medium‑broad roll | Hieratic and cursive hieroglyphs (in various mixes) | Amduat in three main registers in the stricter sense; sometimes 1–2 well‑ordered bands | Recognisable Amduat hours in fairly orderly sequence | Abbreviated but clearly recognisable Amduat sequence | “Classical” Amduat papyrus of the later 21st Dynasty | Serves as the reference model for non‑royal Amduat copies; borderline material grades into 1b when order or completeness breaks down. |
| A.II.1b | Comparable | Hieratic and/or cursive hieroglyphs | One or two registers, less strictly organised | Amduat motifs, but more fragmentary and less complete | Amduat extracts in less predictable order | Amduat rolls that do not fit neatly into 1a | Marks the looser end of the relatively faithful Amduat tradition; many manuscripts form a continuum with A.II.1a. |
| A.II.2a | Height ≤ c. 25 cm, sometimes very low (11–13 cm) | Hieratic and/or cursive hieroglyphs | Figures and texts in three or in several low horizontal registers | Amduat motifs in confused order or strongly transformed; sometimes border ornament | Still fundamentally Amduat‑oriented in content | “Loose” Amduat papyri, often from secondary workshops; order and quality often modest | Low, compact Amduat rolls; three shallow registers are typical, but individual manuscripts may diverge from the idealised scheme. |
| A.II.2b | Comparable | Hieratic and/or cursive hieroglyphs | One or more low horizontal registers (often 1–2) | Even more deviant or late variants; Amduat motifs plus some BD figures | Amduat core, but heavily mixed and late | Small, late‑chronological subgroup within the loose Amduat types | Distinguished from A.II.2a mainly by style and date; content is very similar and the boundary is porous. |
| A.II.3 | Small group, medium‑broad rolls | Hieratic and/or cursive hieroglyphs | Sections clearly separable into Amduat part and BD part | Amduat motifs and classical BD vignettes in visually distinct zones | BD‑chapters alongside Amduat, but Amduat part structurally dominates | “Double” papyri where A‑ and BD‑parts form blocks rather than being fully mixed | Evidences ensembles in which one roll could visually embody both categories; classification reflects overall role in the burial set. |
| A.III.1a | Medium height; about a dozen manuscripts | Mostly cursive hieroglyphs | Semi‑horizontal or horizontal band with figures | Series of BD‑vignette figures adored by the deceased | Text secondary; one papyrus has title mtjt imy‑wt | Almost identical figure sequences derived from one pattern; formally classed as A | Shows how BD imagery could be re‑framed within the A‑category; illustrates tensions between ancient and modern categorisation. |
| A.III.1b | Medium‑broad, often not extremely long rolls | Mostly cursive hieroglyphs (some hieratic captions possible) | Label on the right always present; remainder almost entirely figures | Mainly polychrome figures; BD‑motifs (often transformed) plus new 21st‑Dynasty theological scenes | Text minimal; iconography dominates | Classic “mythological papyri”: horror vacui, BD echoes and new compositions interwoven | Produced in the same workshops as BD.III.1; the decision “BD or A” may have been taken pragmatically at commission stage. |
| A.III.2a | c. 24 cm high, length variable (up to ±1–1.5+ m) | Mostly cursive hieroglyphs | Mostly figures in horizontal registers; label optional | Mixed repertoire: BD vignettes, Amduat figures and other underworld or solar‑god motifs | No fixed text or image sequence; free collage of elements | Combination of BD + Amduat + other royal funerary motifs in freely composed registers | Highly heterogeneous group; each manuscript follows its own iconographic logic and selection of motifs. |
| A.III.2b | Comparable dimensions; often long, rich rolls | Cursive hieroglyphs (sometimes with hieratic) | Registers with mixed scenes | Even more complex mix of BD, Amduat and other books; iconographically very rich | Same mixed principle as 2a, but with its own stylistic/chronological profile | Top segment of the mixed “mythological” papyri; small, internally homogeneous subgroup | Represents the most elaborate end of the A.III spectrum; analytically separated because of its distinct, late 21st‑Dynasty character. |
| U | Various; usually fragments or atypical sizes | Hieratic and/or cursive hieroglyphs | Irregular; may echo patterns of more than one type, or be too fragmentary to judge | Motifs can derive from BD, Amduat or other compositions in combinations that do not fit the established schemes | Content often mixed or incomplete; function sometimes uncertain | Provisional “unclassified” group for papyri that resist a secure assignment to BD‑ or A‑types | Intended as a holding category: manuscripts placed here may be re‑assigned when new parallels or joins are discovered. |
This overview has been compiled on the basis of A. Niwiński, Studies on the Illustrated Theban Funerary Papyri of the 11th and 10th Centuries B.C., Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 86, Fribourg–Göttingen, 1989. VB 2026-01