Book of Abraham/Facsimiles/Facsimile 2/Restoration of the upper right figure

Restoration of the upper right portion of Facsimile 2

Parent page: Book of Abraham Facsimile 2

Regarding Facsimile 2, it should be noted that portions of the original Facsimile 2 appear to have been missing, and that the missing portions were filled in with characters or images taken from other sources before the image was published in the Times and Seasons. It is not known who attempted to restore the missing sections of Facsimile 2, however, it may have been Reuben Hedlock, who created the wooden engravings of the facsimiles. It is not known whether or not Joseph Smith actually participated in the restoration of the missing sections. It does seem apparent that the material used to fill the missing sections was simply copied from figures or characters located on other sections of the Joseph Smith papyri. Among the missing sections may have been the area identified as section #3, which matches a figure which appears on Joseph Smith Papyrus IV.

The following isn't evidence, but is more likely simply the result of an educated guess. One interesting thing about this restoration is that the figure in the boat on the upper right actually does appear in this section of at least one other hypocephalus. The characters around the edge of the restored section, however, were simply copied from other fragments of the Joseph Smith papyri in order to fill in the gaps for publication and do not represent a restoration of the original characters.

For more information on the complete hypocephalus on the right, see Hypocephalus of the temple musician Neshorpakhered at the British Museum.