LOT 0046

Large Egyptian Bronze Statue of Osiris

LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 664-30 B.C.

16 3/8 in. (3.76 kg total, 41.5 cm high including stand).

Modelled in the round, standing erect and wearing a long, tight-fitting garment, with hands emerging from openings to hold the nekhakha flail and heka crook; on his head is an atef crown, consisting of the white crown with lateral feathers, ram's horns and a uraeus; below his chin extends a braided false beard, supported behind with a short tab; the eye sockets inlaid with glass; mounted on a custom-made stand.

From an old Japanese private collection formed in the 1970s.
Mr M.S. prior to 1988.
Acquired from the above 18 April 1988.
M. Yekta, UK private collection UK.
Acquired from the above 17 Aug 2021.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13469-262425.

Cf. Daressy, G., Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire N° 38001-39384 Statues de divinités, Cairo, 1906, pl. XVII, no. 38.268, for a comparable statuette.

Osiris was one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt, associated with the afterlife, resurrection and the regeneration of life. As ruler and judge of the dead, he offered the promise of rebirth to those who hoped to attain eternal life. Bronze statuettes of Osiris were dedicated in temples and placed in tombs as votive offerings. They expressed personal piety and devotion while invoking the god’s protection and his power to grant rebirth in the afterlife.