posted
Hello everybody , Here is a bronze ex-voto which presents some unusual details, I am doing research about it for some weeks in books and on the Web, but I didn't find any satisfying answer. This Osiris holds a Was scepter, wears a sun disc on the forehead instead of the traditional uraeus and a disproportionate crown (the original conical vegetable Atef, not the white Hedjet).
Here are my questions :
- following a source I've found, the fact that the figure holds the Was could mean that it is not only a depiction of Osiris, but a depiction of Ptah-Osiris ; other sources just mention Osiris. I didn't find in my research any small ex-voto (about 2 inches 3/8 or 6 cm height) like this one holding the Was scepter. Would anyone know, if the simple fact that it holds this scepter strictly refers to Ptah-Osiris ? - in my mind, this artefact would date back to the Late Period, probably to the 26th Dynasty (period during which appeared syncretic Ptah-Sokar-Osiris). Do you think that this date is right ? And could it be a depiction of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, Ptah-Osiris, or just Osiris ?
- I would be interested in any information and eventually anecdote about these symbolic particularities.
Thank you very much.
Posts: 2 | From: France | Registered: Nov 2007
| IP: Logged |
Hello everybody , Here is a bronze ex-voto which presents some unusual details
Which would be this (?)
quote:Originally posted by Nefer Hotep:
This Osiris holds a Was scepter, wears a sun disc on the forehead instead of the traditional uraeus and a disproportionate crown (the original conical vegetable Atef, not the white Hedjet).
I take it that by "disproportionate, original conical vegetable Atef" crown, you are referring to the tripple Atef crown, which is what the figure in the image above appears to be wearing? At the base of one middle Atef, appears to be a circle-like figure, which is what you're likely referring to as the "sun disc"? At this point, nothing strikes me as being unusual...pending of course, elaboration.
quote:Originally posted by Nefer Hotep:
Here are my questions :
- following a source I've found, the fact that the figure holds the Was could mean that it is not only a depiction of Osiris, but a depiction of Ptah-Osiris ; other sources just mention Osiris. I didn't find in my research any small ex-voto (about 2 inches 3/8 or 6 cm height) like this one holding the Was scepter. Would anyone know, if the simple fact that it holds this scepter strictly refers to Ptah-Osiris ?
I'm inclined to go with the "just the Osiris" determination, because much of the time, when a pharaoh is linked with one deity or the other, the pharaoh is shown wearing the crown or regalia peculiar to the deity in question. The same applied to synchronized deities. The Was-scepter appears to be something that came to be associated with the full range of divine authorities or rulers of the land, of which the ultimate *mortal* ruler was none other than the pharaoh's self. Was it demonstrated somewhere that Ptah was the *original* deity who featured the Was-scepter; in other words, was the Was-scepter originally peculiar to Ptah? I mean, I might be missing something here, and if so, I am open to finding it out.
quote:Originally posted by Nefer Hotep:
- in my mind, this artefact would date back to the Late Period, probably to the 26th Dynasty (period during which appeared syncretic Ptah-Sokar-Osiris). Do you think that this date is right ? And could it be a depiction of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, Ptah-Osiris, or just Osiris ?
Sokar is physically akin to Horus, and so, likely that the former personified the latter. The union of Horus and Osiris into a single figure is understandable imo, to the extent that Horus is associated with every living pharaoh, while his father Osiris is associated with the passed away pharaoh; to put this into perspective - the pattern invokes regeneration or rebirth. Horus, while Osiris' son, came to personify Osiris in his state when he was supposed to have been the living ruler of [presumably the first one of its kind] the land. As Sokar's attributes built up, certain divine attributes became akin to those of Horus and Osiris respectively, and thus synchronism with these two figures. What is supposed to be the peculiar attribute of Sokar, to suggest synchronism in the figure in question? Until further notified with elaborate specifics, again, I don't see how this cannot simply be *just* Osiris.
Posts: 1947 | Registered: Sep 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
^ Woe, that artifact is definitely not in good shape. Sorry but do you have a better pic, or more specifically a close-up??
I will say that it is not unusual for two popular deities to be combined together in one statue or representation like for example Amun-Ra.
I don't think the statue is a composite of Seker since Seker is bird headed. I believe if it is a composite it is probably between Ptah and Ausar since Ptah more often held the was scepter.
As for dating, there is no way to tell by looking at it since it looks so corroded. Where was it found?
Posts: 26239 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic