Mural relief bearing the name of King Pepi II

Pepi II was the penultimate Egyptian king of the Sixth Dynasty (c. 2365-2195 BC). His reign of over sixty years marked the end of the Ancient Empire. This fragment of bas-relief comes from his pyramid, built at Saqqara, and bears witness to ancient Egypt’s beliefs with regard to an afterlife. These two fragmented columns show the hieroglyphs of the king’s names, inside the oval-shaped lozenges: Néferkarê is shown on the right, and Pépi on the left, under the words djed medu, ‘words to say’, which are typical of liturgical recitations. These words are part of the Pyramid Texts, which were carved in the royal funerary complex from the time of Unas, the last king of the Fifth Dynasty, onwards. These texts were intended to guide the king towards his second life among the gods and the stars.