Ranefer

Not to be confused with Ranefer (High Priest of Ptah), Neferirkare Kakai, or Neferefre.
Ranefer in hieroglyphs
D21
D36		 nfr

Rˀ-nfr
Ra-nefer
Ra is beautiful
A diagram indicating Ranefer’s position in his family tree
Ranefer in a family tree

Ranefer (or Ranofer) was a prince of ancient Egypt during the 4th Dynasty (Old Kingdom of Egypt).[1]

His name, Ranefer, comes from the Egyptian god Ra and the Ancient Egyptian word nefer (nfr), meaning "beauty."

Ranefer, who had the title King’s Son,[2] was a son of Pharaoh Sneferu, who was the first ruler of the Fourth Dynasty.[3] Ranefer’s mother was Sneferu’s wife or concubine; her name is unknown. Ranefer’s elder brothers were Nefermaat I and Rahotep.[4][5][6]

Ranefer worked as an overseer for his father[7] (title: “Overseer of Djed-Sneferu”) and was buried inside a mastaba tomb at Meidum.[8] In the tomb were found remains of viscera wrapped in linen.[9] Ranefer’s body is the best representation of what mummification techniques entailed during the Old Kingdom.[10] His body was facing east, was molded as well as painted. The mummy’s hair was painted black, the eyebrows and eyes were painted green[11] whilst the mouth was painted red. The genitals were also carefully molded, the brain remained in the skull and its innards were found in a canopic chest in the tomb.[12]

  1. ^ Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt: A Genealogical Sourcebook of the Pharaohs, 2004, Thames & Hudson
  2. ^ Bart, Anneke, Seneferu
  3. ^ Hill, Jenny. "Children and grandchildren of Sneferu".
  4. ^ The California Institute for Ancient Studies. "The Kings of the 4th Dynasty".
  5. ^ Old Kingdom Monuments Organized by Ruler, Wikiversity
  6. ^ Snofru, Ranefer's father Archived 2010-04-25 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Justine Victoria Way, From Privilege to Poverty: The Life-cycle of Pyramid Settlements During the Old Kingdom
  8. ^ Marsh, Cynthia (6 April 2013). "Egyptian Pharaoh Sneferu and His Overachieving Children".
  9. ^ "Death and the afterlife in ancient Egypt". Preservation of the viscera. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  10. ^ Ikram & Dodson 1998:110-111
  11. ^ Petrie, William Matthew Flinders (1892). "Medum".
  12. ^ McArthur, Riana (31 August 2011). The Evolution of the Technique of Human Mummification (ca.5000 BCE – ca.395 CE). p. 17.