Book of the Dead – Hall of Judgment

From the papyrus of Ani

Centrally placed is a balance, holding in its two pans Ani’s heart on the left and a feather on the right which represents Maat, the divine personification of truth and order.

Thoth, in human form with ibis head, is the scribe of the gods. He holds a scribe’s palette and a reed brush, ready to note down the results of Ani’s interrogation.

Anubis, here shown as a jackal-headed, human-bodied, kneeling deity, holds the cord of the right-hand pan and steadies the plumb bob of the balance.

Shay, the Egyptian god of fate, is standing to the left of the balance.

Papyrus of Ani, “Book of the Dead”, Egypt, ca. 1.250 BC. EA10470,3 © The Trustees of the British Museum
Papyrus of Ani, “Book of the Dead”, Egypt, ca. 1.250 BC. British Museum EA10470,3 © The Trustees of the British Museum