But, on the other hand, those that come from cemeteries are very
numerous. Every tomb that was somewhat cared for in the ancient or
new empire contained several which represented the defunct alone, or
accompanied by the principal members of his family. They were not
always placed in the same spot: in the IVth Dynasty they were sometimes
placed in the outer court, in the open air, sometimes also in the
chapel, where on certain days the family celebrated the worship of the
ancestor. Most often they were imprisoned in a narrow chamber, with a
lofty ceiling, something like a corridor, and for that reason called
_Serdâb_ by the Arabs. Sometimes the _Serdâb_ is lost in the masonry
and does not communicate with any of the other chambers. Sometimes it
is connected with the funerary chapel by a sort of quadrangular pipe,
so small that a hand can scarcely be inserted.[15] The priests would
burn incense near the orifice, pour libations, present offerings,
murmur prayers, and everything was supposed to penetrate to the little
apartment. Some of these _Serdâb_ contained one or two statues at
most, others would contain twenty. Some are in wood or hard stone,
but the greater number are in painted limestone. Seated or standing,
crouching or in the attitude of walking, they all claim to be
portraits--portraits of the dead man, of his wife, of his children, of
his servants. If they were more often found in places where they would
have been visible, their presence would be explained by the pleasure
members of a family would feel in seeing the features of those they
had loved. But they are generally walled up for all eternity in hidden
corners where no one would ever penetrate: we must seek other reasons.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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