Egypt, Late Dynastic Period, 26th to 31st Dynasty, ca. 664 to 332 BCE. A hefty figure of an oxyrhynchus fish cast from a copper alloy that rests atop a pair of tenons protruding from an integral plinth. The fish presents with a streamlined body and a tapered snout, a pair of perky lateral fins behind the recessed orbitals, a lengthy dorsal fin, and a forked tail. Atop its head is the crown of Hathor - a sun disk flanked with bull horns and bearing a frontal uraeus cobra - a headdress denoting the sacred association between the oxyrhynchus and the goddesses Hathor, Isis, and Mut. The fish is a medjed, a species of elephant fish with a distinctive downturned snout. Size: 4.375" L x 0.625" W x 2.375" H (11.1 cm x 1.6 cm x 6 cm); 3.4" H (8.6 cm) on included custom stand.

The ancient Egyptians worshipped this fish at the town of Medjed, which, after Alexander the Great's conquest, was renamed to be "Oxyrhynchus" in Greek. The fish played a role in one of the most important stories in Egyptian mythology, attesting to the rebirth and immortality of the god Osiris. Although there are many forms of the myth, the general outline of the story is this: Osiris and his queen Isis ruled Egypt. Osiris's brother, Set, had him murdered, but Isis found his remains. She raised him from the dead using the sacred mysteries of mummification and he impregnated her; then he died again, and she hid his body in the desert and gave birth to his son, Horus. Set, enraged, found the remains of Osiris and tore his body into pieces that he scattered throughout the land. Isis gathered all of these pieces up - except the penis, which had been eaten by the medjed. Many towns in Egypt claimed to be places where body parts of Osiris were found - towns could profit from pilgrims and worshippers - and Medjed was no exception. This figure, made of relatively expensive bronze, probably functioned as a ritual item held by a temple, or may have been a votive ornament purchased by a wealthy pilgrim or worshipper.

Provenance: private Corpus Christi, Texas, USA estate collection, acquired 1960s to 1970s

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#165091

Fissure to one tenon just beneath fish body as shown. Abrasions to plinth, fish, and crown, with softening to some finer details, otherwise intact and excellent. Great green and brown patina throughout.