Egypt, Late Dynastic Period, 26th to 31st Dynasty, ca. 664 to 332 BCE. A sensitively cast bronze head of Osiris, the god of the underworld. The veristic visage features slightly recessed, almond-shaped eyes accentuated with cosmetic outlines and elongated canthi beneath thin eyebrows, fleshy lips with a delineated philtrum, a slender nose with rounded nostrils flanked by smooth cheeks, and cupped ears with petite lobes. Resting low on Osiris' brow is his signature Atef crown with a spherical finial and a tapered form bordered by a pair of ostrich feathers, and a frontal uraeus cobra rears its upper body while its serpentine lower body traces up the middle of the headpiece. A lengthy false beard exhibits a tightly plaited design and is secured in front of the mandible with a thick chinstrap that terminates just beneath the ear lobes. Attractive brown and russet patina envelops the entire composition in deep layers of color. Size: 2" W x 4.125" H (5.1 cm x 10.5 cm); 4.2" H (10.7 cm) on included custom stand.

Osiris is one of the most highly revered gods known through ancient Egyptian civilization, is the father of the falcon-headed god Horus, and is sometimes referred to as the son of Ra, the sun god. Osiris is often depicted with green skin in Egyptian artistry that is evocative of his death and resurrection as well as of his role in the afterlife. He is also occasionally depicted with brown skin indicative of his association with fertility, in this case the mud of the Nile River; the Nile's seasonal flood was the most pivotal natural event during the course of the year for ancient Egypt.

For an example of a full Osiris figure with a stylistically similar head from the Late Dynastic to Ptolemaic Period, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 04.2.437

Provenance: East Coast, USA collection, acquired in April 2014; ex-Sands of Time Ancient Art, Washington, D.C., USA; ex-S. Bono collection, Chicago, Illinois, USA, acquired in July 2001; ex-Howard Nowes Ancient Art, New York, New York, USA, #3578

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#157789

This is a head from a larger bronze composition. Restoration to right eye of uraeus cobra as shown. Minor abrasions to face and crown and nicks along neckline. Wonderful preservation to facial details and smooth, dark patina throughout. Drilled hole beneath neck for display purposes.