The Solar Barque Towed by Deities (Book of Gates, KV17)

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.