Stela (Commemorative Stone) Depicting the Funeral of Ramose

New Kingdom, Dynasty 19, reign of Ramesses II (about 1279–1213 BCE)

Egyptian; Probably Armant or Thebes (now Luxor), Egypt

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.

Status: On View, Gallery 50
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Ancient Egyptian
Title: Stela (Commemorative Stone) Depicting the Funeral of Ramose
Place: Egypt (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1279 BCE–1213 BCE
Medium: Sandstone and pigment
Inscriptions: 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.
Dimensions: 111.8 × 84.5 × 12.1 cm (44 × 33 1/4 × 4 3/4 in.)
Credit Line: Museum Purchase Fund
Reference Number: 1920.264
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/78165/manifest.json

Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of the Egyptian Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1923), pp. 42-43 (ill.).
Alan R. Schulman, “The Iconographic Theme: ‘Opening of the Mouth’ on Stelae,” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 21 (1984), pp. 183-84, fig. 11 (ill.).
Nicola Laneri (ed.), Performing Death: Social Analyses of Funerary Traditions in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean. Oriental Institute Seminars Number 3 (Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 2007), cover image (ill.).

Long term loan to the Oriental Institute Museum at The University of Chicago February 1, 1999 - June 2021.
Art Institute of Chicago, Life and Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, Feb. 11, 2022 - present.

The Art Institute of Chicago, acquired in Cairo through James Henry Breasted as agent, 1920.

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Stela (Commemorative Stone) Depicting the Funeral of Ramose

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.