This magnificent bronze votive sculpture
represents Osiris, god of fertility, king of the
dead, and ruler of eternity. Many centuries ago,
it might have been found inside a temple, placed
as an offering to the mighty deity. He is depicted
wrapped as a mummy, holding a crook and flail.
These two attributes act as scepters symbolic of
his divine authority over the forces of nature. He
wears the atef crown, featuring a Uraeus cobra
and a pair of undulating ribbed ram’s horns, and
a false braided beard with a curved tip. This type
of beard is a symbol of divinity while the
headdress associates the god with the ruling
pharaohs. The legend of Osiris states that his
brother Seth, overcome by jealousy, murdered
him and tore his body into fourteen parts,
scattering them across Egypt. Isis, the faithful
wife of Osiris, traversed the land and gathered all
the parts of his body. She then cast a spell that
resurrected her deceased husband for one night,
during which their child, Horus, was conceived.
Thus, Osiris was the central figure of Egyptian
religion, the god who had triumphed over death
and therefore offered the hope of rebirth and
resurrection to all men. This striking image of
the god in his royal mummiform speaks of a
universal mystery, the unanswered questions for
which no living man has a sure answer.
- (X.0135)
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