Figure

The bronze figure depicts Osiris, the god of the dead and ruler of the afterlife. His mummiform body is furnished with lugs on the back and at the base, which were used to suspend the figure. He holds a crosier and a feather duster in his hands. Osiris is a symbol of resurrection and as the god of vegetation, he guarantees the eternal cycle of nature. He is responsible for agricultural fertility. When the land is parched by the sun, the annual floods of the Nile ensure the possibility of new life. The seeds are laid in the earth (burial of Osiris), they rest in the ground (stay in the underworld) and germinate to form new plants (resurrection). To take part in this process of resurrection, believers hung small bronze statuettes of this kind in the sanctuaries of the god. This Osiris figure was part of the former university collection.