This magnificent bronze votive sculpture
represents Isis, the bride of Osiris,
the mother of
Horus, the healer, the protector of
women, the
winged goddess able to grant
immortality. The
word, “Isis,” is actually the Greek
version of her
older Egyptian name, Aset or Eset,
revealing that
she remained a popular deity during the
Ptolemaic period, associated with
Demeter.
Many centuries ago, this sculpture might
have
been found inside a temple, placed as an
offering to the beloved goddess. She is
depicted
wrapped as a mummy, holding a crook and
flail,
imagery generally associated with her
husband
Osiris. These two attributes act as
scepters
symbolic of her divine authority over
the forces
of nature. Interestingly, she wears a
false
braided beard with a curved tip, a
symbol of
divinity. 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
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, Isis was
one of the
central figures of Egyptian religion,
the healer,
the giver of life. This gorgeous
sculpture
features a small hole in the top of her
head
where an attachment would have once been
placed, perhaps the sun disk flanked by
horns
that is characteristic of Isis.
- (PF.6271)
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