Papyrus Nesamen – Turin 9

Nesamen – ns-imn
Ranke I, pg. 173, 19
Probably from Thebes, 21th Dynasty, acquisition in 1824
His name means ‘He belongs to Amen’

God’s father of Amen-Re, God’s father of Mut, God’s father of Khonsu

This papyrus presents scenes from the Amduat’s Tenth and Eleventh Hours. On the manuscript’s right-hand side the so-called etiquette shows an offering scene between Osiris and the papyrus’ owner.

The treatise’s structure consists of two horizontal registers. From left to right it describes the netherworld reality through a multimodal composition of visual and linguistic signs.

On the manuscript’s left-hand side, the Tenth Hour displays a predominantly apotropaic characteristic presenting the following scenes: The Punishment, The Armed Ones, and The Goddesses and Seth’s Crook.

The scribe then arranges five columns of text, with the Eleventh Hour’s introduction. This forms a vertical element that separates the Tenth Hour from the Eleventh.

In the manuscript’s centre, the Eleventh Hour maintains the apotropaic characteristic expressed by the previous episodes and presents the following scenes: The Solar Boat, The Bearers of Mehen and The Punishment of the Damned.

On the manuscript’s right-hand side, the etiquette shows the deceased, Nesamun, son of Paneferher, offering funerary supplies and lotus flowers to Osiris (source Museo Egizio Papyri, research Enrico Pozzi)