Figure
Papyrus carrier "Ptah Sokar Osiris", 299 - 1 v.Chr.
About the object
In the first millennium BCE, mummy-shaped wooden figures, which were inserted into a long rectangular pedestal with a peg, were popular among funerary objects. Statuettes of this kind amalgamated the god of the dead, Osiris with the Memphite creator god, Ptah and the underworld god Sokar into a composite deity, Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, who was supposed to guarantee the resurrection of the deceased. The pedestal is hollow with a closable compartment concealing small linen bags in the shape of a mummy, containing cereal grains mixed with loam. The sprouting of the grain in the loam symbolised the resurrection of the god of the dead and vegetation. In addition, the inscription on the wooden figure cites a hymn that equates the deceased with Osiris and allows the deceased to share in his regenerative powers.