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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1932.56.13
Title
Standing Osiris
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
statuette, sculpture
Date
mid 7th-late 1st century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Egypt (Ancient)
Period
Late Period to Ptolemaic
Culture
Egyptian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303995

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Mixed copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
11 x 3.2 x 1.7 cm (4 5/16 x 1 1/4 x 11/16 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Mixed Copper Alloy:
Cu, 83.53; Sn, 3.94; Pb, 4.32; Zn, 7.33; Fe, 0.27; Ni, 0.11; Ag, 0.15; Sb, 0.15; As, 0.15; Bi, 0.029; Co, less than 0.005; Au, 0.038; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Chemical Composition: XRF data from Tracer
Alloy: Mixed Copper Alloy
Alloying Elements: copper, tin, zinc
Other Elements: lead, iron, silver, antimony

K. Eremin, January 2014

Technical Observations: The patina is dark brown with thin green corrosion products on the surface of the headdress, chest, and ankles. Isolated patches of brown accretions lie over these. There are some minor casting flaws, such as porosity (as one can see on the back of the torso) and the missing proper right tip of the headdress. The surface is worn all around and heavily abraded on the back, probably due to cleaning, and the tang beneath the base is scraped, exposing bare shiny metal.

The solid statuette was cast in one piece with the base. The soft edges of the facial features, inscriptions, and ornamental details on the headdress suggest that these elements were fashioned in the wax. The faceted edge of the base was filed down.


Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2002)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Dr. Harris Kennedy, Milton, MA (by 1932), gift; to the William Hayes Fogg Art Museum, 1932.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. Harris Kennedy, Class of 1894
Accession Year
1932
Object Number
1932.56.13
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The crook and flail on this Osiris statuette, held in the side-by-side arrangement, have been reversed, and the flail lacks its customary hanging strand of beads. A hieroglyphic inscription running down the front of the shroud is untranslatable. The flat body would have been attached to a base by the pin below the plinth-like feet, which join the legs at an obtuse angle. The headdress is missing the top proper right corner. Some concerns about the authenticity of this object are raised especially by the presence and location of the odd inscription (1).

Osiris was one of the most popular gods of the Egyptian pantheon. Early in Egyptian history he represented a chthonic fertility god that later acquired the royal insignia of the crook and flail. He came to be identified as the ruler of the underworld. The Egyptian ruler, perceived during his lifetime as the incarnation of Horus, became Osiris after death. Over time, Osiris was equated with all deceased individuals and became a symbol of resurrection. The major cult shrine of Osiris was at Abydos in Middle Egypt, where Seti I (c. 1294-1279 BCE) built a magnificent temple in Dynasty 19.

Small bronze figurines representing Osiris show the god wrapped in a form-fitting garment, perhaps denoting a mummified shroud, and carrying the symbols of rulership—the crook and flail—in each hand. Enveloped in his shroud, Osiris’ arms are bound close to his body and his feet and legs stand together. The god is usually depicted wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt, ornamented with a uraeus (cobra) on the front and sometimes flanked by two feathers (the atef crown). In addition, this crown can rest on a set of spiraling ram’s horns that project to either side.

The bronze figurines take two basic forms: seated or standing. Within each group, several subgroups can be distinguished according to the placement of the hands. The hands can be side-by-side without overlapping, the proper right hand above the left in a vertical alignment, or crossed over one another at the wrists. G. Roeder associates the different poses to geographical areas within Egypt: those with hands side-by-side in Middle Egypt, those with hands one above the other in Lower Egypt, and those with the hands crossed over one another in Upper Egypt (2). The position of the hands also appears to correlate with other broad stylistic features. For example, the ridge created by the shroud pulled around the shoulders occurs primarily on figurines in which the hands are arranged one above the other.

NOTES:

1. It is possible that the piece is authentic and the inscription a later addition, but there are also stylistic issues with this statuette. Inscriptions, when present on bronze Osiris statuettes, generally occur on the base rather than on the figure. Thanks to E. Russo, Brown University, for this information.

2. G. Roeder, Ägyptische Bronzewerke, Pelizaeus-Museum zu Hildesheim, Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichung 3 (Hamburg, 1937) 89; and id., Ägyptische Bronzefiguren, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Mitteilungen aus der Ägyptischen Sammlung 6 (Berlin, 1956) 133. See also M. Wuttmann, L. Coulon, and F. Gombert, “An Assemblage of Bronze Statuettes in a Cult Context: The Temple of ‘Ayn Manâwir,” in Gifts for the Gods: Images from Egyptian Temples, eds. M. Hill and D. Schorsch, exh. cat., Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 2007) 167-73, esp. 169-70.


Marian Feldman

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu