Osiris; Egypt, XXVI dynasty, Saita period, circa 600 BC.

Osiris; Egypt, XXVI dynasty, Saita period, circa 600 BC.
Bronze.
It shows loss of the feet, mineral deposits on the surface and scratches all over the piece.
all over the piece.
Measurements: 17 x 6 x 4 cm.
Egyptian bronze figure of Osiris, represented standing with his hands coming out of his mantle, holding the staff and flail, and the crown atef with uraeus. This image follows the canonical iconography of Osiris: the god is wrapped in a shroud that perfectly fits the contour of his body. In his hands he holds the ?agellum (the nekhekh scepter, visible in the left hand) and the hekat scepter, the shepherd's staff. On his head he wears his usual atef crown, composed of the white crown of Upper Egypt, with two ostrich feathers, now missing. A serpent descends down the front of the headdress just above the forehead.
These figures were considered votive offerings and were deposited in shrines near the most important temples of Egypt, where they have been found. Osiris is the Egyptian god of resurrection, symbol of fertility and regeneration of the Nile; he is the god of vegetation and agriculture, and also presides over the court of judgment of the dead. Osiris is almost always represented mummified, with the crown Atef, the staff and the whip or the scepter uas.