This unusual statue group depicts Pasherien-taiswy between his father Ashakhet and his mother Ta-nefertyu. There are many inscriptions on the statue, which are categorised by the translator as follows:
Although it has all these inscriptions, the the date of the statue group is surprisingly difficult to establish. Its style seems to be deliberately archaic, but most scholars agree that the texts cannot be earlier than the 4th century B.C.
The translation is adapted from I. Guermeur, "Le groupe familial de Pachéryentaisouy : Caire JE 36576" ( PDF ). There is a German translation by K. Jansen-Winkeln, "Biographische und religiöse
Inschriften der Spätzeit", p. 136, no. 25 ( Google Books ).
| Cairo JE 36576 |
[A] The singer of Amun the ancient, great in prestige, the revered one, Ta-nefertyu, the daughter of the prophet Hetepimen, the name of her mother being Isisirdis. Ta-neferetyu says : "I play the sistrum before you, revered ba, great of prestige of . . ." The true associate of the king, whom he loves, the governor and great of Xois, Pasherien-taiswy, justified by Osiris. The governor and headman of Xois, scribe of the temple, [Pasherien-ta]is[wy] (?). The stolistes, governor of Xois, Ashakhet, justified, son of . . ., justified with the great god. Ashakhet, justified, says : "the faithful to his lord, let his name be spoken as one would do for the god."
[B] An offering that the king gives to Amun-Rê, the king of the gods, the venerable force, the chief of all the gods, so that he may grant everything that comes out of the altar for the ka of the associate of the king, the governor and great one of Xois, Pasherien-taiswy, justified. He says : "O prophets, divine fathers, those who are in Karnak, the pure ones, the great ones of victorious Thebes, the masters of the secrets who are admitted into the god's presence to see this sacred image, who open the gates of heaven to the ba that crosses the sky, who enter the horizon and what is in it, who rise upon the platform, who ascend the staircase, who recognise the conscious images by worshipping the divine name, who appease the god by performing the ritual of the day of mesper ; the face of Amun-Rê, the hero of the (?) lord of the two lions of Atum will live for you if you offer the ankhu plants to my statue during your exit from the courtyard on the sixth day before the day of mesper."
[C] O prophets, fathers of the god, those who are in Ipet-Sut, the pure ones, lector priests of Thebes who enter and leave in front of my statue, all the scribes who are instructed in hieroglyphs, skilled in the work of the One-who-is-intelligent, all the pure ones of the temples of the south, the prophets of the north, all those who come to contemplate the prestigious one of the two fronts, to pronounce an adoration to the unique of the unique, to commune with life in front of his beautiful face, the primordial one, whom the gods and goddesses live to see; may the face of the one who (?) acts as master of his great flame, who is older than all the gods, live for you, if you say: "May Amun favour you, may the mistress of the Isheru love you, may Horus master-of-joy protect you, because Pasherien-taiswy, justified, is one praised by his master, a deceased man blessed by his god." This should be done for me because I am his servant who is faithful to him, and it is not difficult for a mouth to say good things; anyone who magnifies another will himself be magnified.
[D] The associate of the king, Pasherien-taiswy, justified, says : "O he who leads the bas, he who opens the way to the living image, he who decapitates the ghosts, O all these gods, the lightest of the air is for your nostrils. O he who created the good breath so that men, mammals, birds, fish, snakes and plants breathe, may you make my ba exist shining in the day, that I breathe the sweet breath of your majesty, that I capture the north wind, that I grasp life and that my prayer rises as your breath rises. May you make me leave Heliopolis to go to Thebes, that I return to the mounds of Djeme, perform an oblation with the deceased ones, when your evening boat reaches Manu ; that I receive the libation of the one who presides over his Opet and the invocatory offering of the one with the raised arm; that I join in the praises which delight the image of Rê who presides over Ipet-Sut, as you have answered the supplications on the day of the feast of the Valley; that I live from them when the time comes, that is what I desire; that I rest in the shadow of the Residence-of-Rê that I unite with your ka as every day; that I take the snw-breads which come out before me coming from the altar of Rê, himself. Adoration to Rê-Hor of the Two-banks-of-Horus, the youth who presides over his lowland, so that my name remains and does not know destruction according to what your majesty has ordered in this regard. May you place my eldest son, the prophet of Mut, Ashakhet, in my place in my lifetime, beside the younger generations in the Residence-of-Rê : he is assiduous in recalling your power, this unique one, who is descended from you. May you make his name endure in your domain with his successor, Pasherien-taiswy, for he is your grain; may you render them akh daily and rejuvenate their images among the imakhu ; may they have your protection; may your platform support them, for your servant does not neglect your might; my descendants are established in the service of your majesty; no fault can be found in them with respect to you, their praises are great in the heart of my time of life, their love belongs to the retinue of the god." His mother, the musician of Amun-Rê, the revered one, the one who prepares the birthplace, with a generous heart for her husband, who does what her children love, the good wife, she is without fault, Tanefertyu, justified, the daughter of the prophet Hetepimen, her mother's name is Isisirdis.
[E1] Let the civic divinity of the true associate of the king, whom he loves, the governor and great one of Irekh and of Xois, the prophet of Amun-Rê, lord of Xois, who created himself, the scribe of the temple of the domain of Amun, Pasherien-taiswy, justified, stand behind him, his ka being in front of him, it is Amun, the imakhu with the gods and goddesses in the Residence-of-Rê, the ỉmn-priest, the one who makes the flood happen, the servant of Horus of Buto, the first and the third prophet of Banebdjed, the great living god of Rê, the scribe of the divine writings of Amun, the uhem-priest of Khonsu-the child-Rê-Horakhty, the prophet of Amun-Rê lord of Xois, who created himself, the accountant-scribe for pharaoh of the temple of the city, the scribe of the temple of the domain of Amun-Rê and its religious buildings, the director of the prophets in the Castle of Royalty, Pasherien-taiswy, justified, the son of the holder of the same titles, Ashakhet, his mother's name being Taneferetyu.
[E2] He says: "O divine god, the king of gods, accomplished, distinguished, primordial in his manifestation, the ba of bas, Amun, the king of kings, there is no other god who has appeared like him, the lord of the thrones of the Two Lands, the great god of the beginning, who initiated the appearance, before that which appeared appeared, the bull of his mother, who engendered his father, skilled in creating all things, the primordial one of the Two Lands, Amun, who created all that exists, the ancient of ancients, the primordial of primordials, the ancient one in Heliopolis, the great one in Thebes, great in appearance in Memphis, the god of gods who made the gods, the hidden ba who created the gods, who created himself, no one engendered him, the gods and goddesses fear him, the father of the divine chick, the mother of the egg, the one who strengthens the actions of all the gods, who presides over those who are on the earth that he created, he is lord of the lowlands, after he began by standing like a (?) lion in Xois, the gods and goddesses follow him, the old, the honoured, Amun, lord of the years, great with royalty in the Castle of Royalty."
[E3] I am your servant in the place you love, the purifier of your majesty; I have increased its purity, I have maintained the rules, I have not violated the grounds of your dwelling; I have offered Maat to your mysterious chapel, because I knew that it is from it that you live; I have supplied your two temples and I have provided for your altar; I have protected your servants and I have raised up what was destroyed in your city; I have rewarded the unfortunate and I have filled what I found empty; I have renewed your rituals after having prepared your temple and I have set straight the statues of the gods in your sacred places: their cult images are established in their place and the idol of the two daughters of the king of the north is established in your dwelling; it is alive in its day and does not know any destruction. May my heart persevere in remembering your benefits and may my body be renewed and provisioned thanks to your greatnesses; my heart is just and faithful to you, like the wire of the scales . . . possessor of the secret art of the gods. May you increase my renown before the image of the god, in his city, while I am praised by his assembly, because on your behalf I have provided the nobles with what is necessary and the populace with goods, being one of the courtiers whose appearance is most perfect. May the great ones, since they have been abundantly provided for, be helpful to the rising generation, in my name, because I give a perfect example to the people of judicial administration and great magistrates.
[E4] Praise be to my heir, the prophet of Mut Ashakhet, born to the mistress of the house Taamonet, who ascends the platform informed of your power and who holds his tongue about your affairs; may you remember his perfection, may you remove his suffering, may pain not reach his body; may you double his life span and establish his domain; may you establish his children in your presence; may you increase his love for the king in his heart, for he is of impeccable attitude in his work with his courtiers. May he have praise with the good god for those who are descended from me, may that which is pleasant be granted to them in order to renew what is necessary. Grant me a time of life on the funeral bed among the images of Atum ; may my name not be the object of hostility, since the demons have been cast down, and what is fomented in their hearts does not come to pass. When I pass over, let me be embalmed according to the methods of Anubis, through which divine flesh goes in peace; let me be granted the merehet oil taken from the arms of Shezmu as protection for Neith in the mansion of Mennet, the divine garment of the great gods, the divine cloth of the goddesses; let my mummy be swaddled as the work of perfect practitioners, in accordance with the wishes of my successor. May my body be buried in great distinction, may I join the ram of the Ennead. May everything be done each day for my ka as it would be done for his ka. May a book of glorifications be read out for me; may all the rituals be pronounced for me that the glorified, the conscientious, those who know the writings of Thoth, have said. The prophets and the pure ones of the temples having been abundantly provided with many riches; may they be magnanimous towards the companions of the King, may what is necessary be provided so that I may reach the place of the fathers. May they lower my mummy to a place appropriate for me just as the followers of Horus did. May I reach the sacred land of Uhata while all the pole-bearers sing praise to Rê; may I join with the fathers and embrace the mothers, may the assembly rejoice when I approach the land of life, and their hands welcome me. So-and-so, so-and-so, the venerable, honoured living, have been abundantly provided for; their ka will be made, as they pray for me to the god and inasmuch as they will persevere in saying: "Welcome, welcome to this praised one of the gods, his father is the imen-priest of the majesty of the hidden ba { Amun }, the one who makes the flood come from Nun the ancient, the overseer of the secrets of the living royal ka, Amun, the divine purifier of his greatness. May his life be prolonged, for he is great in rewards, much loved by those who are on earth, master of foods, rich in provisions, who gathered all riches, who gave bread to the hungry, beer to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, and who placed his supportive arms behind the prophets of Thebes, when Noh had fallen into affliction, the imakhu of Amun the ancient, great in prestige, Khepri, who created himself, the royal scribe, Ashakhet, justified, son of the prophet Khonsu-emwia, justified."
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