Bronze statuette of Osiris
€7,600
available
Object number
AR3425
| Object: |
Bronze statuette of Osiris
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| Material: |
Bronze. Eyes inlaid with silver.
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| Period: |
Late Period of Ancient Egypt, 26th to 31st dynasty, 664 BC to 332 BC. |
| Description: |
Bronze statuette of Osiris, god of the afterlife. He is depicted as a mummiform young male. On his head the Atef crown with uraeus, on his chin a pharaoh's beard. The arms are joined in front of the chest and hold a crook and flail. Remarkable are the eyes with originally belonging and preserved inlays made of silver.
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| Background: |
Depictions of Osiris are mandatory for every collection of Egyptian antiquities. He is among the most important gods of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. Statuettes of him were used in burials since the New Kingdom. Since the Third Intermediate Period bronze was the most popular material for such statuettes and by the Late Period almost all of them were made of bronze. They are manifestations of the hope of the deceased to be reborn. Osiris was not only the king of the underworld, but also the god of fertility, afterlife and resurrection.
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| Dimensions: |
16.6cm high, including the ancient pin below the feet. 5.0cm wide. 17.5cm high including the modern base.
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| Condition: |
Near perfect condition. Only minor chips and missing part at the end of the pin below the feet. The surface is preserved in all its details. It was carefully cleaned while preserving the original green to brown patina. What is certainly special are the preserved original eye inlays made of a different material. By its size, quality and preservation it is a truely outstanding specimen of this popular type of bronze figurine. It is mounted to a modern base by means of an ancient pin underneath the feet. At the sides of the base are remants from old sticker, e.g. one with print "Christie's" and insription "[...] 195".
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| Provenance: |
Acquired by us in 2022 on the US-American art market. Previously in the US-American private collection M. B. Acquired into the collection at Christie's Paris, auction 16 February 2011, lot 195. Consigned from the French collection Jean-Philippe Mariaud de Serres. Acquired into the collection before 1983.
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| References: |
Cf. M. Page Gasser, Götter bewohnten Ägypten, Bronzefiguren der Sammlungen Bibel+Orient der Universität Freiburg Schweiz, p. 55 and plate XIII, no. 11. Cf. E. Otto, Werke der Kunst in Heidelberg, aus der Sammlung des ägyptologischen Instituts der Universität Heidelberg, fig. 20/21. Cf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. no. 74.51.5583. |
| Literature: |
A good explanation of Osiris bronze statuettes can be found in Madeleine Page Gasser's Götter bewohnten Ägypten, Bronzefiguren der Sammlungen Bibel+Orient der Universität Freiburg Schweiz, pages 55ff.
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| Authenticity: |
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.
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