Egyptian Book of the Dead has arrived in Chicago

From October 2017 through March 2018, the Egyptian Book of the Dead will be on display at the Oriential Institute:

The ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead is a series of magical spells that promised to transform any living person into an immortal divinity in the afterlife. This exhibit of more than 50 objects explores what the Book of the Dead was, what it was believed to do, how it worked, how was it was made, and what happened to it. The show features two spectacular Books of the Dead—one 41 feet long—which are shown in their entirely for the first time in nearly a century. A recreation of a burial with a rarely exhibited mummy shows how so many objects inscribed with the Book of the Dead literally surrounded the deceased, some spells being written on linen bandages, others on amulets that were placed on the mummy, yet others on bricks that were embedded in the walls of the burial chamber. The exhibit presents the newest research on the Book of the Dead, what it meant to the ancient Egyptians, and how through text and elaborate imagery, they sought to live forever as gods. A fully illustrated catalog edited by exhibit curator Dr. Foy Scalf accompanies the show.

Louise Lerner of the University of Chicago has an inside look at the exhibit, including some nice photos of various artifacts included there.

The Oriental Institute, founded in 1919 and opened to the public in 1931, has long housed artifacts from all over the Ancient Near East. For those interested in the wider Near East, museum-goers can also visit the exhibit on the earliest years of Hittitology research, which Chicago was instrumental in pioneering:

This exhibit looks at Chicago’s contribution to the field, including the early years of Hittitology, the careers of faculty members Hans G. Guterbock and Harry Hoffner, the creation and progress of The Chicago Hittite Dictionary, and the Oriental Institute’s expeditions to Turkey.

Hans Guterbock and Harry Hoffner were giants in the early days of deciphering Hittite and reading its once-lost literature. Their discoveries forever changed not just how we view the Hittites, but also Egyptian and Mesopotamian relations and even Greek mythology.

The exhibit opened in September, and a representative from the Oriental Institute said that it will stay open for the foreseeable future.