DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4862#0058
TEXTS OF BIOGRAPHICAL IMPORT
office which devolves upon him of acting as family priest, and saying a
burial-grace over the table of offerings. The recipients are in each case
seated on a da'is, so high as to recall the raised niches which we find in
the chapels of this tomb.
The rancor of the king or of the devotees of Aton, or of both, has
been busy here and has spoilt the aspect of the wall, but the impelling
aim is far from clear. The name of Puyemre and his claim on the grace
of the gods and the piety of men is left inviolate. On the other hand,
the words of consecration and the person of the officiant in both cases
have been, not merely destroyed, but blotted out with plaster. The sculp-
tured scenes are almost identical on both sides, as far as we can control
them. The text, however, shows that the persons are different. On the
left hand, it is the parents of Puyemre who sit there and await the
magical transformation of the earthly meal set before them into some-
thing of which spirits can partake. The spell is lost to us; only the final
words of their son's (?) address can be half read, half guessed, "...
[for the ka of the judge] Puya (and) for the ka of Neferyah." The son
credits his parents, however, with other desires besides those of hunger.
His words are directed to "the unveiling of his father, the honored one,
the scribe Puya, [and his mother]1 the chief foster-mother, Neferyah;
that they may see the lord of the horizon when he voyages across the
sky." On the other side, Puyemre's filial piety is rewarded in the same
way by his faithful son or servant, who invokes from Harakhti, Osiris(P),
and perhaps other gods, a burial-gift of sweet air (?) for the nostrils of
the dead. The last column over the pair, mentioning "his wife, the
house-mistress, Senseneb," shows us who they are, and a textual paral-
lel in the tomb fills the gaps in the inscription. "The spell. The temple-
[father Puyemre comes] as Nefertem, [as a lotus] to the nostril of Re
when he issues [from] the horizon. The gods are purified when they see
him daily, living [for ever and ever?]."1 The presence of Senseneb in-
1 Erased because of the hieroglyph _£\. The passage suggests that statues of the parents were
set beside those of the son in the shrine, the "unveiling" being the ceremonial opening of the door.
2 Cf. Vol. II, p. 10. The officiant is probably extending a lotus flower or bouquet to the nose of Puyemre
as on PI. IX. "Gods" has wrongly been restored as "Amon."
35
The north
wall
Pious services
rendered by
and to
Puyemre
office which devolves upon him of acting as family priest, and saying a
burial-grace over the table of offerings. The recipients are in each case
seated on a da'is, so high as to recall the raised niches which we find in
the chapels of this tomb.
The rancor of the king or of the devotees of Aton, or of both, has
been busy here and has spoilt the aspect of the wall, but the impelling
aim is far from clear. The name of Puyemre and his claim on the grace
of the gods and the piety of men is left inviolate. On the other hand,
the words of consecration and the person of the officiant in both cases
have been, not merely destroyed, but blotted out with plaster. The sculp-
tured scenes are almost identical on both sides, as far as we can control
them. The text, however, shows that the persons are different. On the
left hand, it is the parents of Puyemre who sit there and await the
magical transformation of the earthly meal set before them into some-
thing of which spirits can partake. The spell is lost to us; only the final
words of their son's (?) address can be half read, half guessed, "...
[for the ka of the judge] Puya (and) for the ka of Neferyah." The son
credits his parents, however, with other desires besides those of hunger.
His words are directed to "the unveiling of his father, the honored one,
the scribe Puya, [and his mother]1 the chief foster-mother, Neferyah;
that they may see the lord of the horizon when he voyages across the
sky." On the other side, Puyemre's filial piety is rewarded in the same
way by his faithful son or servant, who invokes from Harakhti, Osiris(P),
and perhaps other gods, a burial-gift of sweet air (?) for the nostrils of
the dead. The last column over the pair, mentioning "his wife, the
house-mistress, Senseneb," shows us who they are, and a textual paral-
lel in the tomb fills the gaps in the inscription. "The spell. The temple-
[father Puyemre comes] as Nefertem, [as a lotus] to the nostril of Re
when he issues [from] the horizon. The gods are purified when they see
him daily, living [for ever and ever?]."1 The presence of Senseneb in-
1 Erased because of the hieroglyph _£\. The passage suggests that statues of the parents were
set beside those of the son in the shrine, the "unveiling" being the ceremonial opening of the door.
2 Cf. Vol. II, p. 10. The officiant is probably extending a lotus flower or bouquet to the nose of Puyemre
as on PI. IX. "Gods" has wrongly been restored as "Amon."
35
The north
wall
Pious services
rendered by
and to
Puyemre