Lot 1A
Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate to Late Dynastic Period, ca. 1070 to 332 BCE. A cartonnage (linen or papyrus covered with plaster) panel depicting Osiris and the Djed Pillar. Somewhat unusually, this cartonnage is laid over woven textile, some of which can be seen through it. It may have been the covering for a mummy. All Egyptian funerary art was laden with symbolism that, by the Third Intermediate Period, had become ancient tradition, and this piece is no exception. Painted in bright colors - mainly yellow - Osiris, the god of the Underworld, stands behind the pillar, holding his characteristic crook and flail, signs of Egyptian kingship and the fertility of the Nile Delta. He wears his Atef crown, with two curling ostrich feathers, one on either side, symbolic of Upper Egypt and the god's cult. The piece is set into a custom wood frame. Size: 6.5" W x 12.75" H (16.5 cm x 32.4 cm); size of wood: 10.45" W x 15.8" H (26.5 cm x 40.1 cm)
The Djed Pillar was commonly placed as an amulet near the spine of a mummy, and is listed in the Book of the Dead as part of a spell which can be used to reanimate the use of the mummy's spine so that it can sit up, resurrected. It is associated with Osiris, representing his spine, and is one of the oldest symbols in Egyptian mythology.
Provenance: private Swiss collection
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#124186
- Condition: Piece is fragmentary, as shown, with surface cracks, especially low on the right corner. Imagery is in nice condition and very clear, with almost no losses except at the top of the headdress and a tiny loss across the bottom of the pillar.
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