Egypt, probably Sais
Late Dynastic Period , late XXVI - early XXVII Dynasty, circa 600 BC
Height 14 cm ( 5 1⁄2 in )
Depth 11 cm ( 4 3⁄8 in )
Former private collection Rome, Italie, acquired at Galerie Khepri early 1980’s
A. Page: Egyptian Sculpture, Archaic to Saite from the Petrie Collection, Aris & Philips, Warminster 1976
B. von Bothmer: Egyptian Sculpture of the Late Period 700 B.C. to A.D. 100, Brooklyn Museum, New York 1960
Fragment of a statue of a striding man carrying a Naos with the effigy of the god Osiris in front. On what remains of the support of the naos, the beginning of a text is presenting the owner as the "host" of the god venerated in the temple where his statue stood.
On each side of the long garment, an inscription is mentioning the person who dedicated the monument to the temple. The names cited are those of officials belonging to a family which prospered in the priestly environment of Sais at the end of the XXVI Dynasty or the beginning of the following. The family is known from various other monuments, including the statuary group in the Louvre, N 663.
The inscription on the back pilar gives the remains of the “Saite formula”, a text intended to ensure the protection of the statue.