DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4858#0082
FAMILY INTERCOURSE
In the lower scene the pair have their food consecrated by a
sem-priest (the figure expunged).1 The four men who follow with
offerings have the priest's shoulder-sash. Two scrawled notes accom-
pany the upper two, "Giving shoulders of beef2 and severed pieces.
To be said four times," and "Doubly pure (are these) for the Osiris,
the serving-priest of Amon, Nakht." An unfinished note to the second
figure below began "Making a libation. . . "
Consecration
of food to the
use of the
dead
FAMILY INTERCOURSE
(WEST WALL: SOUTH SIDE—PLATES X, XV-XVII, AND FRONTISPIECE)
The outer chamber, being the living-room of the dead, is appro-
priately decorated with scenes of banqueting and social gatherings.
This hospitality, however, even at its widest, is limited to family con-
nections, since the idea of eternal reunion is always present. The
dominance of the well-filled table is indeed apt to pall on one in these
mural scenes, but the depiction of larger entertainments, from their
joyous tone and the opportunity they afford for lighter touches, is
always welcome. If we turn to Plate XV, we shall find that our
artist, relieved of the oppressive weight of religious considerations, has
given us as charming a treatment of this subject as is to be found in
the necropolis. A part has been lost by the falling of the stucco sur-
face, but the essential features are preserved.
The wall is divided, as commonly, into an upper and a lower
scene; for the artist preferred to repeat the leading episode of the
presentation of food to the deceased pair rather than carry this out in
a single scene of disproportionate scale. The upper picture showed
'For some yet unexplained reason the reformers under Akhnaton had an antipathy to this officiant
and erased his figure systematically (the smaller figure above this one escaped notice). He often was, or
represented, the eldest son, standing to the dead man as Horus "the beloved son" did to Osiris, and for
that reason, perhaps, was condemned by the monotheistic fanatics, who were evidently strong enough at
Thebes to interfere even with burial customs. Dr. Gardiner suggests that as performer of the hotep di
nisut rite he impersonated the king. Did Akhnaton wish to resume an ancient royal function or to abolish a
misused rite? His religious movement certainly resulted in a great enhancement of the position of the king.
2Reading ^a^aA^i.
55
Even the dead
enjoy social
intercourse
Description
of the upper
scene
In the lower scene the pair have their food consecrated by a
sem-priest (the figure expunged).1 The four men who follow with
offerings have the priest's shoulder-sash. Two scrawled notes accom-
pany the upper two, "Giving shoulders of beef2 and severed pieces.
To be said four times," and "Doubly pure (are these) for the Osiris,
the serving-priest of Amon, Nakht." An unfinished note to the second
figure below began "Making a libation. . . "
Consecration
of food to the
use of the
dead
FAMILY INTERCOURSE
(WEST WALL: SOUTH SIDE—PLATES X, XV-XVII, AND FRONTISPIECE)
The outer chamber, being the living-room of the dead, is appro-
priately decorated with scenes of banqueting and social gatherings.
This hospitality, however, even at its widest, is limited to family con-
nections, since the idea of eternal reunion is always present. The
dominance of the well-filled table is indeed apt to pall on one in these
mural scenes, but the depiction of larger entertainments, from their
joyous tone and the opportunity they afford for lighter touches, is
always welcome. If we turn to Plate XV, we shall find that our
artist, relieved of the oppressive weight of religious considerations, has
given us as charming a treatment of this subject as is to be found in
the necropolis. A part has been lost by the falling of the stucco sur-
face, but the essential features are preserved.
The wall is divided, as commonly, into an upper and a lower
scene; for the artist preferred to repeat the leading episode of the
presentation of food to the deceased pair rather than carry this out in
a single scene of disproportionate scale. The upper picture showed
'For some yet unexplained reason the reformers under Akhnaton had an antipathy to this officiant
and erased his figure systematically (the smaller figure above this one escaped notice). He often was, or
represented, the eldest son, standing to the dead man as Horus "the beloved son" did to Osiris, and for
that reason, perhaps, was condemned by the monotheistic fanatics, who were evidently strong enough at
Thebes to interfere even with burial customs. Dr. Gardiner suggests that as performer of the hotep di
nisut rite he impersonated the king. Did Akhnaton wish to resume an ancient royal function or to abolish a
misused rite? His religious movement certainly resulted in a great enhancement of the position of the king.
2Reading ^a^aA^i.
55
Even the dead
enjoy social
intercourse
Description
of the upper
scene