Statuette of Osiris
Late Period, Dynasty 26 or later, 664–332 BCE
Medium
Copper alloy
Dimensions
27 × 6.8 × 4.5 cm (10 5/8 × 2 5/8 × 1 3/4 in.)
Classification
statuette
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
617
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Ancient Egyptian worshippers purchased statuettes like this one from temple workshops and deposited them in temples or shrines. They made such offerings in thanks for answered prayers or to request good health, long life, and other favors from the gods. This finely cast statuette depicts the mummified Osiris, ruler of the underworld. The god holds a shepherd’s crook and a flail, symbols of royal authority that signify his role as Egypt’s first king. The statuette would have been inserted into a ...
About the Artist
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian artists, a collective of highly skilled artisans spanning over three millennia from the Predynastic period (c. 6000–3150 BC) to the Roman era (30 BC–4th century AD), produced some of humanity's most enduring masterpieces. These anonymous craftsmen, often organized in state-sponsored workshops, lived in dedicated communities like Deir el-Medina near Luxor during the New Kingdom (c....