Marriage Contract of Statirtbint to Teos (The "Papyrus Libbey")

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Marriage Contract of Statirtbint to Teos (The "Papyrus Libbey")

Artist Unidentified

Period Late Period Ancient Egyptian, 664–332 BCE

Place of OriginEgypt

Date338 - 337 BCE

Dimensions7 × 26 in. (17.8 × 66 cm)

MediumIndia ink (lampblack and gum arabic in water) on papyrus

ClassificationManuscripts

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1906.164

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Collections

Works on Paper

Published ReferencesSpiegelberg, W. "Der Papyrus Libbey, Ein Agyptischer Heiratsvertrag," Schiften der Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft in Strassburg, vol. I . Strassburg, 1907.

Spiegelberg, W. Papyrus Libbey, An Egyptian Marraige Contract,Toledo, 1907.

Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Mummies: From Egypt to Toledo, February 3- May 6, 2018.Label TextThis Egyptian marriage contract, written in Demotic script, reflects the legal framework of marriage during Egypt’s Ptolemaic period. Written in first person by a woman called Statirtbint (also known as Thabis), daughter of Peteharpochrates and Senminis, the papyrus records her marriage to a Theban man called Teos, who was the pastophoros of Amenophis in the West of Thebes, in the year 338-337 BCE. Such documents ensured the fair distribution of assets and rights, offering protection to both parties involved. Statirtbint outlines the mutual responsibilities of the spouses, property rights, and dowry agreements, including the conditions under which she would leave the marriage: “You have made me wife. You have given me 5 silver kite [currency] as my dowry. If I will repudiate you as my husband, and if I hate you, and if I love another man, I will give you the 2.5 silver kite back.” A group of papyri held by the Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire in Brussels, belonging to the archive of the same family, records that Statirtbint bought a house in Thebes in 311 BC.