Unrolling Eternity: The Brooklyn Books of the Dead

Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Pkwy, 11238, New York City

January 30, 2026 – December 31, 2027

For the first time, visitors can view one of the world's only complete and gilded Books of the Dead, the finest existing copy. The Brooklyn Museum's conservation team spent three years restoring this 21-foot papyrus scroll, now displayed in a special Spotlight within the gallery dedicated to ancient Egyptian funerary practices. The gilded manuscript, dating between 340 and 57 B.C.E., contains nearly all 162 spells from the longest known versions and appears alongside one of the earliest Books of the Dead, gold amulets, and reed pens. Unrolling Eternity illuminates ancient burial rites, the artistic mastery of this rare masterpiece, and the cutting-edge conservation techniques used to preserve it. In ancient Egypt, Books of the Dead served as guides for the deceased through the underworld, each personalized with spells for a particular individual. Conservation and curatorial efforts have revealed the scroll's original owner—Ankhmerwer, son of Taneferher—creating an extraordinary connection to a person who lived more than two millennia ago.