Image

Egyptian

Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, 332-30 BCE

Description

Maker

Culture

Egyptian

Title

Ptah-Sokar-Osiris

Year

332-30 BCE

Medium

Wood, gesso, and paint

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Dimensions

Height: 86.4 cm (34 inches)

Type

Credit

Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Samir Moubayed

Object Number

80.262.1

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Ancient Egyptian Galleries

This statuette depicts Ptah-Sokar-Osiris in his human-faced form. Popular in funerary contexts after 1000 BCE, this composite deity represents Ptah, the creater god of Memphis; Sokar, patron of the Memphite necropolis; and Osiris, the chief god of the afterlife and ruler of the underworld. Together, they suggest birth, death, and resurrection.

A linen-wrapped corn mummy was placed inside this hollow mummiform figure to represent the agriculture image of rebirth in the afterlife. The body of the god therefore functions as a coffin itself.

The crown and beard were carved separately and attached to the figure with dowels.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Ptah-Sokar-Osiris with the accession number of 80.262.1. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.