Egyptian Bronze Sculpture of Osiris

“The White Crown is set on your head. You seized the crook and the flail when you were (still) in the womb and had not (yet) emerged onto the earth” The Book of the Dead This magnificent bronze votive sculpture represents Osiris, god of fertility, king of the dead, and ruler of eternity. It survives to us from the Late Dynastic Period. Depicted in-the-round in typical mummiform, Osiris stands upon substantial trapezoid base with integral tang for mounting. Arms are crooked at the elbow and positioned one over the other against the trunk, the hands protrude from beneath vestment and clutch crook and flail. The crook, representing the shepherd and the flail, symbolizing the punishments deemed necessary to retain authority were Osiris’s essential attributes and became the insignia of Pharaonic authority. No two objects were more closely associated with the rulers’ dominion over Egypt and would have been bestowed upon the Pharaoh upon accession. Osiris wears the atef crown, which combines the HEDJET – CROWN OF UPPER EGYPT – WITH FRONTAL URAEUS SERPENT AND RAM HORNS TOPPED BY OSTRICH FEATHERS, REPRESENTING TRUTH, JUSTICE, MORALITY AND BALANCE AT THE SIDES. It was worn solely by Osiris and Sobek. THE ELONGATED TRIANGULAR FACE WITH LINEAR BROWS, LARGE EYES, FLESHY NOSE AND LIPS BEARING SERENE SMILE HAS BEEN FINISHED TO AN EXCEPTIONAL STANDARD. THE PLAITED ROYAL BEARD, WHICH CURVES SLIGHTLY AT THE TIP, IS JOINED TO THE CHEST. INCISED COLLAR AROUND THE NECK. SUPERB, GLOSSY PATINA OVER WHOLE. EXCITEMENT WAS CAUSED RECENTLY IN JANUARY 2015 BY THE DISCOVERY OF OSIRIS’S MYTHICAL TOMB IN THEBES. THE ENORMOUS ANCIENT REPRODUCTION OF THE MYTHICAL TOMB AS DESCRIBED BY EGYPTIAN LEGEND DATES BACK TO 25TH OR 26TH DYNASTY.