Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 104. (Budapest, 2006)
ÉVA LIPTAY: Between Heaven and Earth II: The Iconography of a Funerary Papyrus from the Twenty-First Dynasty (Part I.)
THE SHU CHARACTER OE THE "GREAT GOD" As has been mentioned above, the original Amduat closing scene concentrates on the separation of the mummy-shaped Osiris and the scarab-shaped sun-god, i.e., on the rebirth as scarab. The accompanying text of the closing scene, however, exhibits a much wider range of creation conceptions. 23 This many-colouredness is what prevails in the later versions of the scene, in the course of its iconographie development. The iconographically ever closer relationship between the figure of the two gods, and moreover their momentary fusion, is the result of a gradual development, which can be well traced on examining the Twenty-first Dynasty funerary papyri. 24 The closer relationship of the three gods (Osiris, the scarab-shaped sun-god, and Shu receiving the reborn god into his arms) results in the characteristics of Shu merging in the figure of Re-Osiris also on the Heruben- and Henuttawi-papyri, following the Ramesses IX pattern. The Shu character and the activisation of the originally passively lying mummy-shaped god is indicated by the arm raised from the mummified body. In other words: the extension of the figure of Osiris with Shu's arms put the figure of Re-Osiris in Shu's scope of duties and position. 2 ' It is not only about receiving the sun-disc, who is about to cross the boundary of the Netherworld, and lifting him to the sky, but a creation conception is also woven into the symbol system: at the beginning of the world, Shu's arms, by lifting the Sky, separated the different parts of the universe which had existed in the primaeval unity before. Shu is, of course, not only the separator of all that, but also the connector. It seems, however, that the above described process —due to the insistence on the original Amduat version —was not fully completed in the case of the Budapest papyrus. As there the arms —in the form of a sun-disc with arms spread —are present separately also. Below the head of Shu, who is spreading out his arms, in the place of his upper body a sun-disc can be seen also on the original New Kingdom royal versions. 26 So the functions of the sun-god and Shu are in close connection already in these cases, but the figure of Osiris constitutes a separate unit within the scene. The depiction of the Budapest papyrus goes one step further: a personified sun-disc (with arms) appears in the position of Shu. 2 Other similar transitional solutions can be found among the Twenty-first Dynasty funerary papyri, which adapt this topic. On a Twentyfirst Dynasty papyrus, e.g., the hand holding the sun-disc reaches out from the Osiris mummy (that has no arms). 28 The arms holding the sun, appearing at the moment of creation, and at the mountain of the eastern or western horizon 29 change into a sun-disc with arms already in the New Kigdom in some cases. 30 This motif was widely used in the Twenty-first Dynasty on the illustrations of
