Barakat Gallery
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Home
  • Artworks
  • Exhibitions
  • About
  • Contact
Menu
  • Menu

Egyptian Bronzes

  • All
  • egyptian scarabs
  • Masterpieces of Egyptian Art
  • Predynastic Period
  • Middle Kingdom
  • Late Dynastic Period
  • New Kingdom
  • Ptolemaic Period
  • Roman Period
  • Egyptian Amulets
  • Egyptian Bronzes
  • Egyptian Ushabtis
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: 26th Dynasty Bronze Sculpture of Osiris, 664 BCE - 525 BCE
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: 26th Dynasty Bronze Sculpture of Osiris, 664 BCE - 525 BCE
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: 26th Dynasty Bronze Sculpture of Osiris, 664 BCE - 525 BCE

26th Dynasty Bronze Sculpture of Osiris, 664 BCE - 525 BCE

Bronze
height 20.3 cm
height 8 in
X.0342
Enquire
%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3E26th%20Dynasty%20Bronze%20Sculpture%20of%20Osiris%3C/span%3E%2C%20%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E664%20BCE%20%20-%20%20525%20BCE%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3EBronze%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3Eheight%2020.3%20cm%3Cbr/%3E%0Aheight%208%20in%3C/div%3E

Further images

  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 1 ) Thumbnail of additional image
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 2 ) Thumbnail of additional image
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 3 ) Thumbnail of additional image
The 26th Dynasty, also known as the Saite Period, is traditionally placed by scholars at the end of the Third Intermediate Period or at the beginning of the Late Dynastic...
Read more
The 26th Dynasty, also known as the Saite Period, is traditionally placed by scholars at the end of the Third Intermediate Period or at the beginning of the Late Dynastic Period. In either case, the Saite Period rose from the ashes of a decentralized Egyptian state that had been ravaged by foreign occupation. Supported by the assistance of a powerful family centered in the Delta town of Sais, the Assyrians finally drove the Nubians out of Egypt. At the close of this campaign, Ashurbanipal’s kingdom was at the height of its power; however, due to civil strife back east, he was forced to withdraw his forces from Egypt. Psamtik I, a member of the family from Sais, seized this opportunity to assert his authority over the entire Nile Valley and found his own dynasty, the 26th of Egyptian history. Known as the Saite Period due to the importance of the capital city Sais, the 26th Dynasty, like many before it, sought to emulate the artistic styles of past pharaohs in order to bolster their own claims to power and legitimize their authority.
Yet despite that artist sought to replicate models of the past, Egyptian art of this era was infused with a heightened sense of naturalism. This fact is likely due to the influx of Greek culture. The Saite rulers recognized that Egypt had fallen behind the rest of the Mediterranean world in terms of military technology. Thus, they were forced to rely upon foreign mercenaries, many of whom were Greek. With ties between these two cultures firmly established during the 7th Century B.C., commercial trading quickly blossomed. Special entrepots for foreign traders were established, including the famed center of Naucratis, a Delta town in which Greek merchants were permitted access. During the Saite Period, two great powers of the Mediterranean world became intimately linked, commercially and culturally. As the exchange of ideas flowed across the sea, the Greeks began to experiment on a monumental scale while the Egyptians began to approach art with an enhanced sense of realism.

The legend of Osiris states that his brother Seth, overcome by jealousy, murdered him and tore his body into fourteen parts, scattering them across Egypt. Isis, the faithful wife of Osiris, traversed the land and gathered all the parts of his body. She then cast a spell that resurrected her deceased husband for one night, during which their child, Horus, was conceived. Thus, Osiris was the central figure of Egyptian religion, the god who had triumphed over death and therefore offered the hope of rebirth and resurrection to all men. This striking image of the god in his royal mummiform speaks of a universal mystery, the unanswered questions for which no living man has a sure answer.

This magnificent bronze votive sculpture represents Osiris, god of fertility, king of the dead, and ruler of eternity. Many centuries ago, it might have been found inside a temple, placed as an offering to the mighty deity. He is depicted wrapped as a mummy, holding a crook and flail. These two attributes act as scepters symbolic of his divine authority over the forces of nature. He wears the double-plumbed atef crown, featuring a uraeus cobra slithering down the front and a false braided beard with a curved tip. This type of beard is a symbol of divinity while the headdress associates the god with the ruling pharaohs.
Close full details
Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email
Previous
|
Next
2 
of  12

London

48 Albemarle Street,

London, W1S 4JW

info@barakatgallery.eu 

 

       


 

CONTACT | TEAM | PRESS 

 

Seoul
58-4, Samcheong-ro,
Jongno-gu, Seoul
+82 02 730 1949
barakat@barakat.kr
             

 

Los Angeles

941 N La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90069
+1 310 859 8408

contact@barakatgallery.com

  


 

 

Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Send an email
View on Google Maps
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025 Barakat Gallery
Site by Artlogic


Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Join our mailing list

Sign Up

* denotes required fields