G. Pieke
As part of
the decoration in Old Kingdom tombs a special group of motives can be found
dealing with the lotus-flower in a central role. Strictly speaking three
different types of lotus motives can be attested for the male tomb owner, that
of receiving (type 1), holding (type 2) and smelling (type 3), which vary in
number, time and provenance. The first two types can also be seen in a context
where a man is accompanied by a woman. Statistically the first type is most
frequent, whereby the others just appear in a small number of tomb chapels. All
motives can be found in tombs from the reign of Neuserre to the end of the 5th
dynasty and in the 6th dynasty for the first time we find the smelling motive
(type 3) appearing in the offering scene on false doors in the necropolis of
Memphis. Despite the syntax of the images the local distribution appears to be
a close topographical tradition, in that most of the scenes depicting the
receiving tomb owner (type 1) are located on the West Field at Giza, with the
other two situated at the East Field and one at el-Hawawish. The holding of the
flower (type 2) is typical for the Central Field at Giza and the smelling scene
(type 3) can be mainly found at Saqqara.
In contrast
to the male decorative program the lotus as such seems to be an early standard
element for female figures in many contexts and types. Already women in the 4th
dynasty were represented holding or smelling the flower, however there is no
evidence showing women receiving the flower as part of banquet or in kiosk
scenes. The third type depicting women smelling the lotus is incorporated in
offering scenes and on false doors from the 5th dynasty onwards.
The fact
that this integration in the main cult scene takes place at the same time as
the male motives are established demonstrates a semantic change of the Lotus as
a symbol of regeneration, which is prominent in the Pyramid Texts.