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Original fileKV17, the tomb of Pharaoh Seti I of the Nineteenth Dynasty, Pillared chamber F, southeast wall decorated with the scenes from the Book of Gates, Valley of the Kings, Egypt (49845805958)
The scene is a polychrome wall relief divided into two horizontal registers against a cream-colored stone ground. In the lower register, four human-headed deities stand in a line, arms outstretched, pulling a rope attached to a golden barque. Inside the barque, a central shrine features a large ram-headed figure, representing the sun god Ra, flanked by two smaller protective deities. The upper register shows a line of seven figures, depicted in profile, walking toward the right with their hands held forward in a gesture of reverence or towing. The entire composition is densely packed with rows of vertical and horizontal hieroglyphic inscriptions, rendered in reddish-brown and black ink.
This scene depicts a segment of the Book of Gates, a New Kingdom funerary text that details the journey of the sun god through the twelve gates of the night. It reflects the complex theological transition of the deceased pharaoh into the solar cycle, emphasizing the preservation of cosmic order (Ma'at) against the darkness.
Multiple rows of hieroglyphic signs covering the upper and lower register backgrounds, providing liturgical descriptions and names of the deities.
Translation
The texts consist of mythological recitations and captions naming the gods and the specific hour of the nocturnal journey. Full translation requires Egyptological transcription of individual blocks.
Book of Gates
This wall painting directly illustrates a specific vignette from the Third Hour of the Book of Gates found in the tomb of Seti I.
Object
fresco
plaster
Nineteenth Dynasty
Egyptian
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 20, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.