Rihanna has honoured her late grandmother with a sprawling goddess tattoo on her ribcage.

The stunning songstress was left devastated earlier this year when she lost her beloved relative Dolly following a long battle with cancer.

Rihanna has now paid tribute to her late grandmother with an inking comparing her to an Egyptian goddess. The star posted a picture of the tattoo on picture sharing site Instagram, which shows Isis kneeling with her knees spread.

"Goddess Isis - Complete Woman - Model for future generations - #GRANGRANDOLLY - always in and on my heart (sic)," she wrote as the accompanying caption.

In the photo, Rihanna is covering her bare chest with her left arm to show off the vast inking.

Rihanna was seen emerging from a tattoo parlour in London over the weekend, ahead of her crowd-pleasing performance at the London 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony in the capital city on Sunday night. The 24-year-old star joined Coldplay on stage to bid farewell to the sports extravaganza that has gripped audiences from across the world this summer.

Rihanna took to the stage to perform Princess of China with frontman Chris Martin. The British band wowed with a 15-track set list, which included a medley of some of their biggest hits through the years.

Rihanna was introduced as a "special guest of Coldplay" as she entered the stadium on a pirate ship, clad in bright orange drawstring trousers and a matching top with flowing long sleeves.