The Egyptian papyrus dated between 594 and 588 BC. and presenting itself as a version of the Book of the Dead was auctioned at Monte Carlo for 1.35 million euros.
A very rare Egyptian papyrus 17 meters long was auctioned Saturday afternoon in Monaco at an auction for the non-commission sum of € 1,350,000, said a representative of the Hotel des Ventes de Monte Carlo.
This piece, proposed by a retired couple living in the South of France, was estimated between 1.8 and 2 million euros, but with a reserve price much lower than that which was finally awarded to a private collector who made his offer by phone.
2500 years old papyrus
This papyrus, a little damaged in its first part but generally in a remarkable state of preservation, is a version of the Book of the Dead.
It consists of some 192 chapters and many vignettes drawn and painted in red and black illustrating scenes like the judgment of the dead by Osiris or that of the afterlife in the fields of reeds.
2500 years old papyrus on sale this Saturday in Monaco - France 3 Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur ► https://t.co/N3XWCEhcxV pic.twitter.com/zj2TlUlBhN
- France 3 Côte d'Azur (@ F3cotedazur) October 12, 2018This document was dated from the Saite period, under the reign of Psammetich II, about 594-588 BC. In total, this sale Monegasque devoted to Egyptian archeology, which proposed, in addition to this papyrus, two hundred other lots, was around 1.6 million euros.