World landmark: Reconstruction of the Erotic Papyrus of Turin using the BNE’s tracing of Egyptian paintings
Unpublished edition of 3 fine facsimiles
Life-size Erotic Papyrus of Turin, BNE’s tracing of Egyptian paintings and the fine facsimile reconstruction of the union of both originals
Location: Egyptian Museum of Turin. Turin Papyrus Cat. 2031 = CGT 55001
Support: Genuine natural papyrus harvested from the River Nile.
Dating: 1200 B.C. 3200 years old
Donor: The artistic quality of the images is high and refined, suggesting that the patron occupied an important place in the state administration and was probably a member of the royal court of Pharaoh Ramses II.
Some scholars believe that some of the illustrations were created to entertain aristocrats.
Length: 2.59 m. in length and the drawing has an average height of 21 cm.
World edition: Unique, numbered and limited to 666 copies that faithfully reproduce the original pigments used in ancient Egypt to decorate the papyri.
Separate volume of studies: Historical and artistic introduction and identification of the illustrations
The unique “kamasutra” of Ancient Egypt
The Turin Erotic Papyrus – Papyrus 55001, also known as the Erotic Papyrus or the Turin Papyrus – is an ancient papyrus from Ancient Egypt, painted during the Ramesesid era, the Egyptian golden age, with Pharaoh Ramses II as patron and supreme leader, in approximately 1200 BC.
Discovered at Deir el-Medina near the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of Luxor, it has been called ‘the world’s first pornographic magazine’.
It is the only known erotic papyrus to have survived
The world’s first porn magazine
Ramses II and the Egyptian Golden Age
Our fine facsimile is a tribute to the cultural heritage of Ancient Egypt, the Ramesesid era, the Egyptian Golden Age, the splendour of its civilisation with Pharaoh Ramses II as its supreme leader, a fine facsimile carefully created to capture the essence of the original.
Each of its chapters, along with its illustrations, has been faithfully reproduced in its most authentic form: using papyrus and with the care of the human hand, thus conveying the same artistic dedication that the ancient Egyptians brought to their monumental works of art.
The quality of the reproduction of each of the original fragments is such that it is impossible to distinguish between the 666 numbered, unique, worldwide limited edition copies and the original held in the Egyptian Museum in Turin.
This makes this identical replica an unmissable choice for bibliophiles, lovers of art, unique, refined and exquisite objects.
Sex in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt did not see sex as something negative or something to hide, it was a society in which women could divorce, inherit and be queens or viziers.
The Turin Erotic Papyrus is considered the oldest sex document in history: it dates back to 1200 BC and was discovered in Egypt in the early 19th century.
It is also one of the few relics that shed light on the sexual life of the Egyptians. It consists of twelve vignettes depicting different erotic behaviours of the time, including a scene in which a prostitute drops a kind of lyre to have sex with a client, indicating that one of the ways of seduction at that time was to use music.
Another drawing shows a woman having intercourse with a man. The curious thing is that she is having sex while holding on to her lute, which again points to the importance of instruments in the process of seduction.
There are figures depicting harpists resting their instruments on huge, erect penises; other paintings focus on depicting royal parties, where groups of beautiful dancers dance half-naked.
The women in the papyrus are always beautiful and nubile, but the men with whom they copulate seem more mature and dishevelled, sometimes bald, short and paunchy: this is why some historians believe that some of the vignettes were created to entertain the aristocrats and get them excited while they were amused by seeing what lower-class people looked like in their intimate moments, as if it were a porn-satirical magazine.
The satire part is confirmed by the fact that some of the images show animals performing human tasks.
The text seems to express joy and delight: “…Come after me with your love, O Sun! You have found my heart exalted, exercise my delight…”.
How could they afford the Erotic Papyrus of Turin?
The cost of commissioning the Erotic Papyrus was exorbitant; only a minority could afford to commission profane texts, occasionally without decoration.
Thus, this large, highly ornamented papyrus offers a glimpse into the social position and wealth of the patron-owner.
Only a close member of the court of Ramesses II of the highest rank could afford such a treasure.
Given its extensive length and profuse ornamentation, its economic value must have been considerable, a display of patronage in this profane work, a tangible testimony to his status and the riches he treasured during his lifetime.
The originals
Our fine facsimile of the Erotic Papyrus of Turin, life-size and identical to the original, is accompanied by the fine facsimile of the tracing of Egyptian paintings of the BNE, and a third fine facsimile of the union of both originals: the fragmentary remains of the Erotic Papyrus of Turin, with signature N. INV. C. 2031 (CGT 55001), and of the tracing of Egyptian paintings from the Biblioteca Nacional de España, Ref. Dib. 18/1/6484, Madrid.
Detail of the fine facsimile of the Erotic Papyrus of Turin, life-size and identical to the original, with signature N. INV. C. 2031 (CGT 55001)
Detail of the second fine facsimile corresponding to the B.N.E. tracing of Egyptian paintings
The tracing of Egyptian paintings belongs to the collection of Luis de Usoz (1805-1865) in the Biblioteca Nacional de España.
It consists of five sheets of tracing paper kept in a cylindrical case, a tracing with a copy of the erotic drawings on the papyrus, catalogued as a tracing of Egyptian paintings.
Detail of the third fine facsimile of the union of the two originals
