Chapter 17 (part 1)

PLATE IV. Vignette: Ani, found just, is led into the presence of Osiris. On the left the hawk-headed god Horus, the son of Isis, wearing the double crown of the North and the South, takes Ani by the hand and leads him forward towards "Osiris, the lord of eternity" Ausar neb t'etta , who is enthroned on the right within a shrine in the form of a funereal chest. The god wears the atef crown with plumes; a menat (see p. 245, note 2) hangs from the back of his neck; and he holds in his hands the crook, sceptre, and flail, emblems of sovereignty and dominion. He is wrapped in bandages ornamented with scale work. The side of his throne is painted to resemble the doors of the tomb. Behind him stand Nephthys on his right hand and Isis on his left. Facing him, and standing on a lotus flower, are the four "children of Horus ( or Osiris)," or gods of the cardinal points. The first, Mestha, has the head of a man; the second, Hapi, the head of an ape; the third, Tuamautef, the head of a jackal; and the fourth, Qebhsennuf, the head of a hawk. Suspended near the lotus is an object which is usually called a panther's skin,[1] but is more probably a bullock's hide. The roof of the shrine is supported on pillars with lotus capitals, and is surmounted by a figure of Horus-Sept or Horus-Seker and rows of uræi. In the centre Ani kneels before the god upon a reed mat, raising his right hand in adoration, and holding in his left hand the kherp sceptre. He wears a whitened wig surmounted by a "cone," the signification of which is unknown. Round his neck is a deep collar of precious stones. Near him stands a table of offerings of meat, fruit, flowers, etc., and in the compartments above are a number of vessels for wine, beer, oil, wax, etc., together with bread, cakes, ducks, a wreath, and single flowers. [1. On the bullock's hide, in which the deceased, or the person who represented him, was supposed to wrap himself, see Virey, Tombeau de Rekhmara , p. 50, and plate 26, lower register.] Appendix: The shrine is in some instances represented in the shape of a pylon, the cornice of which is ornamented either with uræi, or with the disk of the sun and feathers, emblematic of Maat. It usually rests upon a base made in the shape of a cubit, The throne upon which Osiris sits is placed upon reed mats (British Museum papyrus No. 10,471), or upon the cubit-shaped base, or in a pool of water, from which springs a lotus flower with buds and having the four gods of the cardinal points (see British Museum papyrus No. 9901) standing upon it. In some of the oldest papyri the body of Osiris is painted white, and he stands upright. Isis is described as "great lady, divine mother," and Nephthys as "the mistress of the underworld." In British Museum papyrus No. 10471 the scene of the presentation of the deceased to Osiris is unusual and of interest. On the right the scribe Nekht and his wife Thuau stand with both hands raised in adoration of Osiris.