Discovered in a tomb in 1887, Andrew Dickson White bought this papyrus for about $125 in 1889. After taking it to the conservator Émile Brugsch at the government museum, he had it shipped back to the Cornell Library. This extremely well preserved papyrus measures approximately 7 feet 9 inches long and belonged to a Ptolemaic priest named Usir-Wer. Though originally thought to be Spell 125 of the Book of the Dead, this papyrus is completely unique among funerary texts. The beginning describes what Usir-Wer will do once he is received by the gods Osiris and Sokar and the festivals he will participate in. The text draws on several known papyri and spells from the Book of the Dead including spell 90 and spell 140.

The central vignette is one of the more famous scenes from ancient Egypt. In this weighing of the heart illustration, we see the priest Usir-Wer on the right having his heart weighed against the feather of truth (Maat) by the funerary god Anubis. Thoth, with the head of an Ibis, keeps the records. If the heart is heavier than the feather, it will be devoured by Ammit, a goddess composed of the head of a crocodile, the torso of a lion, and the legs of a hippopotamus. If the heart is lighter, then Usir-Wer will go into the afterlife with Osiris, who is seated on the throne, and his wife/sister Isis, standing behind him. The two rows of seated figures represent the 42 jurors in this weighing.