DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4862#0077
Reticence
regarding
Puyemre's
social rela-
tions
The banquet-
ing scene
PLEASANT HOURS AT HOME AND ABROAD
The memories which Puyemre sought to recall to his spirit after death
center so much round his official life that those quite personal to himself,
save for the scenes of offering which custom assigned to the doorway,
are thrust into the darkest corners of the hall under the ceiling, and
are bare of names and notes of relationship. Thus the convivial meal
(Plates XLI, XLII), which is often so prominent, is found occupying
the upper half of the back wall (south end). The collapse of the door-
way has caused the loss of the figures of the host and hostess, whom we
must imagine seated before a row of mats spread with food (to the right
of fragment 4, Plate XLII).1 The elder son(P) serves his parents, crying
"For [thy] ka. [Am]use thyself, 0 effendi! and rejoice in [thy] good
fortune and in this thy long length of years2 which Amon thy lord hath
decreed to thee in thy house of the living." The improvised chant
of the harper follows in small incised signs.3 "A festal day to our
effendi, the second priest of Amon Puyemre, who enters with favor
the presence of the Lord of all! May thy kas be safe and sound! [May
there be given thee what thy heart desires, like the multitude of the
sands of the] dunes!4 Amuse thyself [therewith in this thy long length]
of years. May thy days [be spent in joy and thy hoursP] in gladness,
thy monthly feasts as one rich in favor and love to all eternity."5
The eight ladies squat stiffly on a long mat in a uniform attitude,
and are served with wine which they quaff from shallow bowls held to
their lips by maidservants. They hold a lotus bud (?) in one hand and
their hair-ribbons are also decked in front with a bloom. The pinch of
festal ointment on the head spreads a pleasant scent, and gives softness
to the skin. Between these guests and their hosts three women enter-
tain the company with music. One plays the lyre; a seated companion
'Fragments which, for lack of other position, I assign here, show the names of Puyemre and "she
who adores the god" ( |), Senseneb.
ur
H>,
i
1
II
/wwa J d
a ml ^" ^^e years °f earthly life are put
with Oriental avoidance of harsh truth at a rough "thousand," it being always hoped to exceed a hundred!
Effendi, "official," seems just the term for sr.
3 The harper's curved back is just visible below H on PI. XLI.
4 For the drift of this suggested connection see my El Amarna, III, p. 32.
'Reading Tl-^ffp-^^^.
54
regarding
Puyemre's
social rela-
tions
The banquet-
ing scene
PLEASANT HOURS AT HOME AND ABROAD
The memories which Puyemre sought to recall to his spirit after death
center so much round his official life that those quite personal to himself,
save for the scenes of offering which custom assigned to the doorway,
are thrust into the darkest corners of the hall under the ceiling, and
are bare of names and notes of relationship. Thus the convivial meal
(Plates XLI, XLII), which is often so prominent, is found occupying
the upper half of the back wall (south end). The collapse of the door-
way has caused the loss of the figures of the host and hostess, whom we
must imagine seated before a row of mats spread with food (to the right
of fragment 4, Plate XLII).1 The elder son(P) serves his parents, crying
"For [thy] ka. [Am]use thyself, 0 effendi! and rejoice in [thy] good
fortune and in this thy long length of years2 which Amon thy lord hath
decreed to thee in thy house of the living." The improvised chant
of the harper follows in small incised signs.3 "A festal day to our
effendi, the second priest of Amon Puyemre, who enters with favor
the presence of the Lord of all! May thy kas be safe and sound! [May
there be given thee what thy heart desires, like the multitude of the
sands of the] dunes!4 Amuse thyself [therewith in this thy long length]
of years. May thy days [be spent in joy and thy hoursP] in gladness,
thy monthly feasts as one rich in favor and love to all eternity."5
The eight ladies squat stiffly on a long mat in a uniform attitude,
and are served with wine which they quaff from shallow bowls held to
their lips by maidservants. They hold a lotus bud (?) in one hand and
their hair-ribbons are also decked in front with a bloom. The pinch of
festal ointment on the head spreads a pleasant scent, and gives softness
to the skin. Between these guests and their hosts three women enter-
tain the company with music. One plays the lyre; a seated companion
'Fragments which, for lack of other position, I assign here, show the names of Puyemre and "she
who adores the god" ( |), Senseneb.
ur
H>,
i
1
II
/wwa J d
a ml ^" ^^e years °f earthly life are put
with Oriental avoidance of harsh truth at a rough "thousand," it being always hoped to exceed a hundred!
Effendi, "official," seems just the term for sr.
3 The harper's curved back is just visible below H on PI. XLI.
4 For the drift of this suggested connection see my El Amarna, III, p. 32.
'Reading Tl-^ffp-^^^.
54