ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Ptah-Sokar-Osiris Figure

AAT Object Form/Functionstatuettes (free-standing sculpture)

AAT Object Techniquepainting (image-making)

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodLate Period - Ptolemaic Period

Date722-30 BCE

MediumWood, pigment

Credit LineGift of Joseph A. Lewis II and Sofi Lewis

Dimensions29 1/2 x 4 x 14 5/8 in. (74.9 x 10.2 x 37.1 cm)

Object number2005.075.001A/B

Label TextThis figure represents a god of resurrection, Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, who was a combination of three gods: Ptah, a creator god, Sokar, a god of the underworld, and Osiris, a god representing resurrection and rebirth. Sokar aided in the passage of the sun through the underworld during the hours of the night, enabling it to be reborn at dawn the next day. The combination of all three gods into one illustrates the entire cycle of birth, death, and resurrection. The statuette here retains the characteristic headdress of the god, a combination of double plume, ram horns, and solar disk. A funerary papyrus, now missing, was likely contained within the base of the statue.
Exhibition HistoryFrom Pharaohs to Emperors: New Egyptian and Classical Antiquities at Emory, Michael C. Carlos Museum, January 14 - April 2, 2006
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, 2006 - Present

ProvenanceEx coll. Dr. Ulrich Muller, Zurich, Switzerland, acquired between 1968-1978. Ex coll. Joseph and Sofi Lewis, United States, purchased from Sue McGovern-Huffman [Sands of Time Antiquities], Washington DC.

Status

On view

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