Osiris

The god of resurrection, Osiris reigned supreme in the underworld. He combined the elements of death, regeneration, and fertility in his mythology. He was also connected with crops and the annual floods, Osiris took on funerary associations when he was linked with other underworld gods as his cult spread across the land. This combination of fertility and funerary aspects made Osiris the principal god of the dead. One of his titles is "chief of the westerners," the west being the domain of the dead. Here, the god is shown in his standard iconography, attired in a mummiform garment, his hands projecting from the wrappings to hold the royal insignia of crook and flail. He wears the elaborate atef crown-composed of the tall "white crown," double plumes, ram horns, and uraeus (sacred cobra)-as well as a ceremonial braided beard. This statue is of extraordinary size.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1914, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.