Joseph Smith Hypocephalus

The Joseph Smith Hypocephalus (also known as the Hypocephalus of Sheshonq) was a papyrus fragment, part of the original Joseph Smith Papyri, found in the Gurneh area of Thebes, Egypt, around the year 1818. The owner's name, Sheshonq, is found in the hieroglyphic text on said hypocephalus. Three hypocephali in the British Museum (37909, 8445c, and 8445f) are similar to the Joseph Smith Hypocephalus both in layout and text and were also found in Thebes.

A woodcut image of the hypocephalus was initially published on March 15, 1842, in Volume III, No. 10 of the Latter Day Saint newspaper Times and Seasons, two years before the death of Joseph Smith, who was the editor of the Times and Seasons. This image is included as one of several appendices to the Book of Abraham, where it is called Facsimile No. 2. The Book of Abraham has been considered scripture by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 1880. The location of the original document is unknown.

Hypocephali are small disk-shaped objects, generally made of stuccoed linen, but also of papyrus, bronze, gold, wood, or clay, which were placed under the heads of the dead upon their burial. Hypocephali first appeared during the Egyptian Saite Dynasty (663–525 B.C.) and their use continued for centuries.

They were believed to protect the deceased, causing the head and body to be enveloped in light and warmth, thereby making the deceased divine. Hypocephali symbolized the Eye of Ra (Eye of Horus), which represented the sun, and the scenes portrayed on them relate to Egyptian ideas of resurrection and life after death, connecting them with the Osirian resurrection myth.

To the ancient Egyptians, the daily setting and rising of the sun was a symbol of death and rebirth. The hypocephalus represented all that the sun encircles — the world of the living, over which it passed during the day, was depicted in the upper half, and that of the dead, which it crossed during the night, in the lower portion.

As with other hypocephali, the Joseph Smith Hypocephalus contains the Eye of Shu, the Eye of Ra, or the Eye of Horus, and many other symbolic images which represent elements of ancient Egyptian religious belief. They were part of the burial materials created by Egyptians from the Twenty-sixth Dynasty onward.

...
Wikipedia