Egypt
Late Dynastic Period , XXVI Dynasty, 664-525 BC
Serpentine with traces of original gilding
Height 5.7 cm ( 2 1⁄4 in )
Former private collection Dr. Settian, France prior to 1920; acquired from the above 7 October 1920, it is referenced in the „Stock Book“ 31 December 1921 N° 792C, page 11 and later in the „Jounal Général“ of 1924, page 40
S. Schoske & D. Wildung: Gott und Götter im Alten Ägypten, Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1992
E. Feucht: Vom Nil zum Neckar, Heidelberg, 1986
The god Osiris is seated on a throne. He is represented momiform, his body tightly wrapped in a garment from which his protruding hands rest next to each other on his chest. Osiris is holding in his right hand the flagellum, Nehaha sceptre and in his left hand the Heka sceptre.
Osiris was a complex deity who possessed an essentially dual role in the religion of ancient Egypt. Originally worshipped as a god of fertility and gradually accrued the trappings of a mummified god-king, Ruler of the Underworld and Lord of Resurrection by assimilation with various local gods. In time the king, who in life was the embodiment of Horus, became Osiris in death - a transformation later extended to all Egyptians, bestowing for the first time the opportunity for an independent existence in the next world. This development ensured Osiris a timeless and unbounded popularity that is reflected in the numerous votive images of the god in a variety of stones and metals.