126 - Figure of Osiris; Egypt, Late Period, 664–323 B.C.

Figure of Osiris; Egypt, Late Period, 664–323 B.C. Bronze. Measurements: 11.5 x 2 cm. Provenance: Family legacy of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. Archaeological collection formed from the 1950s by successive generations of the family, through acquisitions in European galleries and auction houses. An Egyptian bronze figure in the style of a full-relief sculpture depicting the god Osiris as is customary in his iconography, wearing the attributes of royalty: the Atef crown, a staff, and a whip or Uas scepter. Osiris is the Egyptian god of resurrection, associated with the fertility and regeneration of the Nile, and the protector of vegetation and agriculture. He also presides over the court of judgment for the dead and is, in fact, closely associated with the Afterlife. He is usually depicted mummified, with the attributes of royalty: the Atef crown, the Hela staff, and the Nehej whip or Uas scepter, just as we see here. Osiris was considered the firstborn son of Geb, the deity of the earth, and the goddess Nut, the embodiment of the sky. He was therefore the brother and husband of Isis, with whom he had a posthumous son, Horus. He first appears in sources from the Fifth Dynasty, although he was most likely worshiped long before that. In fact, we find the epithet Khenti-Amentiu (“leader of the Easterners,” alluding to his role as king of the Afterlife) already in use during the First Dynasty, both in reference to the deity and as a pharaonic title. The most valuable information about Osiris is found in the Pyramid Texts from the late Fifth Dynasty, the Shabaka Stone from the New Kingdom, and, much later, in the writings of Greek authors such as Plutarch and Diodorus. Osiris was considered not only a merciful judge but also the protector of the underworld, and thus the guarantor of the growth of vegetation and the flooding of the Nile. Furthermore, in connection with his myth of rebirth after death, Osiris came to be associated with natural cycles, especially those related to agriculture. As for his mythology, the cult of Osiris as the god of regeneration and rebirth is of particular interest due to his concept of immortality. Plutarch recounts a version of the myth in which Set, Osiris’s brother, conspires with the queen of Ethiopia to murder him. Set tricked Osiris into climbing into a chest, which he then closed, sealed with lead, and cast into the Nile (this chest is the origin of the Egyptian sarcophagus). Osiris’s wife, Isis, found his body and used a spell to bring him back to life so that he could impregnate her. After this, the god died again, and his wife hid his body in the desert. Months later, Isis gave birth to Horus, who would eventually avenge his father.