The Brooklyn Oracle Papyrus The Brooklyn Oracle Papyrus, October 4, 651 Papyrus, pigment, ink, Overall: 10 15/16 × 210 5/16 in. ( × cm). 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


The Brooklyn Oracle Papyrus The Brooklyn Oracle Papyrus, October 4, 651 Papyrus, pigment, ink, Overall: 10 15/16 × 210 5/16 in. ( × cm). 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


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Photo credit: © BBM / Alamy / Afripics
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