DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4863#0043
CEREMONIAL AID
The portal tableaux containing the promise of supplies for the deceased from (i) the
tree-goddess of the west;1 (2) the northern and southern pools;2 (3 and
4) men and women who till the earth. The personifying figures are male
and female alternately, and take the place of similar Old Kingdom
figures representing the farms of the deceased. The goddesses say, "[I
bring thee] . . . pure bread which comes [from me]" and "[I provide
thee] with bread . . . The lady of the desert (?) embraces thee, [0
temple-father of] Amon, Puyemre." The pools declare, "I bring thee
my products, all kinds of flowers [which I have] created;" and "I offer
to thee . . . which issues from me and all kinds of green things in
which I am verdant (?)." The farm-laborers say, "One pure [of face (?)
brings] the water and air3 which (she) produces to the owner of this
tomb" and perhaps "One [pure] of face4 brings what grows (rwd?) on the
surface of the earth, various offerings, 0 temple-father (?) owner of this
tomb!" In the lowest panel the prayer is "For thy ka! offerings and
nourishment, 0 temple-father, owner of this tomb!"
The protect- This doorway leads to the last chamber accessible to the living, a
ing gods
mysteriously dark recess, which was even darker when a wooden door
reduced its narrow opening. Here is the place where the meals of the
dead were set out, and we must expect to find the decoration simple and
stereotyped, like man's essential needs.
Instead of the false door, for which a roomier site had been found in
the north chapel, a naos has been sculptured on the back wall wherein are
figures of the deities who preside over the world beyond, on the thresh-
old of which we here stand (Plate LIX). Osiris, "ruler of eternity," is on
one side, "the kindly western desert" on the other, and each is receiving
the adoration of their new subject. "[A presentation of praise] and
homage to [Osiris . . . ] chief of the gods of the necropolis (?), king of
1 For the tree-goddess in this form see my Tomb of Nakht, PI. X.
2 There were pools of the four quarters of heaven (Kees, Opfertanz, p. 157). But the lakes or
watered estates personified in this figure with the defining attribute on his head probably represent the
sporting grounds in the Delta and the Thebaid which the rich man sought to acquire (p. 72), or their
heavenly counterparts.
3Perhaps standing for "products of water and air" (plants and birds) to supplement the earth-
products on the other side. 4 Cf. p. 20.
28
The portal tableaux containing the promise of supplies for the deceased from (i) the
tree-goddess of the west;1 (2) the northern and southern pools;2 (3 and
4) men and women who till the earth. The personifying figures are male
and female alternately, and take the place of similar Old Kingdom
figures representing the farms of the deceased. The goddesses say, "[I
bring thee] . . . pure bread which comes [from me]" and "[I provide
thee] with bread . . . The lady of the desert (?) embraces thee, [0
temple-father of] Amon, Puyemre." The pools declare, "I bring thee
my products, all kinds of flowers [which I have] created;" and "I offer
to thee . . . which issues from me and all kinds of green things in
which I am verdant (?)." The farm-laborers say, "One pure [of face (?)
brings] the water and air3 which (she) produces to the owner of this
tomb" and perhaps "One [pure] of face4 brings what grows (rwd?) on the
surface of the earth, various offerings, 0 temple-father (?) owner of this
tomb!" In the lowest panel the prayer is "For thy ka! offerings and
nourishment, 0 temple-father, owner of this tomb!"
The protect- This doorway leads to the last chamber accessible to the living, a
ing gods
mysteriously dark recess, which was even darker when a wooden door
reduced its narrow opening. Here is the place where the meals of the
dead were set out, and we must expect to find the decoration simple and
stereotyped, like man's essential needs.
Instead of the false door, for which a roomier site had been found in
the north chapel, a naos has been sculptured on the back wall wherein are
figures of the deities who preside over the world beyond, on the thresh-
old of which we here stand (Plate LIX). Osiris, "ruler of eternity," is on
one side, "the kindly western desert" on the other, and each is receiving
the adoration of their new subject. "[A presentation of praise] and
homage to [Osiris . . . ] chief of the gods of the necropolis (?), king of
1 For the tree-goddess in this form see my Tomb of Nakht, PI. X.
2 There were pools of the four quarters of heaven (Kees, Opfertanz, p. 157). But the lakes or
watered estates personified in this figure with the defining attribute on his head probably represent the
sporting grounds in the Delta and the Thebaid which the rich man sought to acquire (p. 72), or their
heavenly counterparts.
3Perhaps standing for "products of water and air" (plants and birds) to supplement the earth-
products on the other side. 4 Cf. p. 20.
28