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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 (49846646517)
This bas-relief is carved into light-colored limestone, depicting two human figures in profile, facing right, dressed in traditional Egyptian kilts with mid-length wigs. Between the two figures, a long, thick serpent winds horizontally; the tail passes behind the body of the figure on the left, while its head, curled inward with an open mouth, is positioned in the center, and its body extends toward and behind the figure on the right. The stone surface displays natural textures and some minor degradation, with traces of red pigment remaining on the figures' skin and the bodies of the serpents, set against the pale beige of the wall.
This scene originates from the 'Book of Gates', a major funerary text of the New Kingdom intended to guide the deceased pharaoh through the underworld. It illustrates the complex geography of the Duat, where various deities guard the gates through which the solar barque of Ra must pass.
The horizontal registers contain standard hieroglyphic signs, including common determinatives such as seated figures, birds (vulture, owl), serpents, and reed shapes, organized into vertical columns above the figures.
Translation
The hieroglyphs contain divine names, titles, and ritual descriptions relevant to the passage of the soul through the underworld; a precise translation requires expert analysis of the specific tomb register, which describes the entities guarding this segment of the path.
Book of Gates
The image is a direct depiction of a specific register from the Book of Gates found in the tomb of Seti I.
Object
fresco
limestone
New Kingdom, 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.