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Egyptian Antiquities :
Egyptian Bronzes : Egyptian Bronze Standing Figure
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Egyptian Bronze Standing Figure - LO.1037
Origin: Egypt
Circa: 1000
BC
to 650
BC
Dimensions:
16" (40.6cm) high
Collection: Egyptian Antiquities
Medium: Bronze
Additional Information: K, SOLD
Location: Great Britain
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| Description |
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Although not inscribed, this remarkably
large
figure can be identified as a depiction
of
Osiris,
god of the Hereafter, on the basis of
his
costume
and attributes. That costume is designed
as
a
tightly-fitting garment, doubtless
intended to
represent the fine linen bandages in
which
his
mummy was enveloped. A slit in the
bandages
permits the god’s left hand to protrude
so
that
he can hold the flail, one of his
traditional
attributes. The flail, used by ancient
farmers
for
the threshing of grain, associates
Osiris with
the
agricultural cycles of the land and
reinforces
his
authority as the lord of resurrection.
Just as
wheat grows anew after a winter of
dormancy,
so, too, will the deceased be
resurrected in
the
Hereafter.
The face of Osiris is characterized by
idealizing
features consistent with the principle
that he
will
be physically fit and free of all
physical
defects
forever. A false beard, originally
associated
with
goats, is attached to his chin. By means
of
the
principles of sympathetic magic, the
sexually
charged associations of the goat are
metaphorically transferred to Osiris.
The
White
Crown of Upper Egypt, his traditional
headdress,
completes his costume and this is
fronted by
a
uraeus, or sacred cobra.
The scale and technique of our image of
Osiris
suggests that it was created during the
Third
Intermediate Period (Dynasty XXI-XXV),
roughly
1000-650 B.C. The missing left arm was
apparently accidentally destroyed and
not
restored in modern times.
Dr. Robert Steven Bianchi
- (LO.1037)
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