Among the many representations of the traditional
gods of the Egyptian pantheon that were in the
Treasury, there were two of the god
Ihy. One of the
few deities to be shown without clothes, Ihy is the
son of the goddess
Hathor. Made of wood covered with
a dark resin, the figure holds a gilded sistrum in
his right hand. His eyebrows have been gilded, and
the whites and pupils of his eyes are indicated. He
is depicted with the sidelock of youth, the
traditional coiffure for this young god. The
coloration, symbolizing the fertile soil, may
indicate his association with rebirth.
While Ihy
is often referred to in the literature as the god of
music, his role here is clearly funerary. He is a
friendly god, one who will protect the deceased
against any of the demons or evil deities who might
act against him. In the
Coffin Texts (a body of
funerary spells, recorded on the inner walls of
coffins, which formed the basis of the
Book of the
Dead), Ihy is referred to as one of the
manifestations of the deceased (Spell 334) - one of
the gods into which the dead person is transformed.
Tutankhamun would also travel with Ihy across the
horizon. Ihy is a sky god because his mother was
Hathor, a goddess who had celestial associations. He
is also one of the divinities addressed by the
deceased when pronouncing the "negative confession"
(Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead). If he were
judged acceptable, he would then enter into the
Afterlife.