Important Limestone Statue of Osiris in a Naos

Culture: Egyptian

Period: New Kingdom, 1550-1070 B.C.

Material: Limestone

Dimensions: 38.5 cm high

Price: 48 000 Euro

Ref: 1606

Provenance: Private collection Antwerp, acquired in the 1970s. Thereafter with the Galerie Puhze before 2003. Acquired there on 13 February 2003 by the German collection of Erika Krautkrämer (1932-2022). Remained in family ownership until recently. With a copy of the certificate of authenticity issued by Galerie Puhze.

Condition: Unrestored

Description: Finely executed limestone statue of Osiris in mummiform, standing within a naos. The god wears the Atef crown with a central uraeus serpent as the symbol of his earthly rule over Upper and Lower Egypt. His face is sculpted with exceptionally delicate features. The kind eyes project slightly in relief. The pupils, eyelids, and eyebrows are painted black. The mouth, with its elegantly curved lips, is formed into a gentle smile. The ears project slightly at the sides. The braided divine beard hangs far down below the multi-row collar. Osiris wears a close-fitting robe from which only his hands emerge. These rest on his chest – the right over the left – holding a crook and flail. The statue stands on a small pedestal and is enclosed by a naos-shaped shrine with a concave cornice. The sculpture was either part of a life-size representation of an offering bearer (“naophoros statue”), who held the shrine before his body. See for the type, the limestone statue in the Louvre with collection number Drovetti no. 429, which features a very similar depiction of Osiris. Alternatively, it may have stood alone as a votive offering. See for the type, the naos in the British Museum with registration number 1893,0514.175. The worked-down sides and the absence of a votive inscription rather suggest that this high-quality sculpture originally formed part of a life-size naophoros statue of the New Kingdom.