Art Institute of Chicago (Egyptian) · stela
Stela (Commemorative Stone) Depicting the Funeral of Ramose
Description
Ancient Egyptians used mummification and ritual to transform the body into a new entity called a sah, a crucial step in preparing the deceased for life after death. A ceremony called the Opening of the Mouth, depicted here, was a pivotal step in the process. As the name suggests, the rite restored function to the deceased’s mouth, allowing them to eat and drink in the afterlife. At the right end of this scene, a jackal-headed figure holds Ramose’s anthropoid (human-shaped) coffin upright. A pair of priests in front of the coffin burn incense and pour libations, while a third recites sacred texts from a papyrus scroll.
Inscriptions (1)
Inscription #1
English description
Thou art pure as Horus is pure, Horus is pure as thou art pure; thou art pure as Suti (Set) is pure, Suti is pure as thou art pure.." continuing with the same phrases in the names of Thoth and even of a fourth diety. Two lines of inscription below contain a prayer for offerings addressed to Osiris, Isis, Anubis, Hathor and other dieties. Deceased is a Priest of Montu, Ramose. His wife is named Henut-mehyt.
Cross-references (1)
- ARTIC-id 78165 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Art Institute of Chicago (Egyptian).
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.