Woman offering incense: throw cushion

In this scene from the Book of the Dead, the lady Tjawtayundenit is offering burning incense to the gods. Incense was a most prized and luxurious commodity in ancient Egypt, and was believed to purify the air with its sweet, pungent smell. The Egyptian word for incense was snTr, senetjer, meaning ‘to make divine’.

And now you can show off your Egyptology geekery by relaxing with this gorgeous throw cushion.

These soft, yet hard-wearing, 33 × 48 cm cushions are made from faux suede and each one is individually cut and sewn by hand. The design is printed on the front, with a stone-colour back.

This scene is a detail from a page of the Book of the Dead funerary text. It has been photographed using a macro lens to bring out the detail in the brush strokes and lit to highlight the texture of the papyrus. It’s from the collection at the Garstang Museum of Archaeology in Liverpool (accession number E.507(1)). The owner of the manuscript was a woman called Tjawtayundenit, a songstress of Amun-Re, who lived in Egypt during the 21st Dynasty (1069–945 BC).