Irregularly sized papyrus fragment measuring, at its largest, 11½ × 18½ inches (29 × 47 cm). Shortly after JS and others acquired the papyri in July 1835, this papyrus fragment was pasted onto a paper backing, apparently to preserve it. The nineteenth-century paper backing is the same size as the papyrus. Several smaller scraps of papyrus were adhered to the fragment or pasted within its lacunae. Residue from glue on the backing indicates that smaller scraps of papyrus were also mounted to the backing and then lost. The paper used for mounting the papyrus contains part of a map of northern . Also adhered to the backing is a small square patch of what appears to be a drawing of the , measuring 2 × 2⅛ inches (5 × 5 cm). Other pieces of paper, including a small patch of papyrus, are attached to the verso of the backing, apparently to secure tears or patches. At an unknown time, the single papyrus fragment was cut roughly in half vertically. The left half was then cut again horizontally; the upper piece of the left half is extant, but the lower portion has been lost. The right half, known to scholars as fragment IV, measures, at its largest, 11½ × 8 inches (29 × 20 cm), with a backing of the same size. The upper left half, known to scholars as fragment II, measures 5⅛ × 10½ inches (13 × 27 cm), with a backing measuring 4⅝ × 10½ inches (12 × 27 cm). Written in graphite on the verso of the backing of the upper left piece is the number 10, which corresponds to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art accession number for that fragment.

For provenance of the papyri, see Source Note for Fragment of Book of Breathing for Horos–A, between 238 and ca. 153 bc.