Terms and conditions of use
Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figure of Hor, son of Djedhor
Ptolemaic Period 332 BCE-30 BCE
Medium
wood, pigment, gesso, gold, silver
Measurements
(a-c) 89.4 × 17.9 × 50.3 cm (overall)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1939
© Public Domain
Gallery location
18th Century Decorative Arts - Great Hall Costume Corridor
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
This composite deity is a god of resurrection and would have been placed in the tomb to assist the deceased in the afterlife. It was dedicated by Hor, son of Djedhor, whose priestly titles are listed down the figure’s front. The figure wears a broad floral collar with falcon-head terminals and a shrine-shaped pectoral containing images of the gods. The base is covered with silver leaf, now oxidised,and is incised with alternating hieroglyphic signs for life (ankh) and dominion (was sceptre). The wig and base have areas of ‘Egyptian blue’, or blue frit – a granular glass-like composition, which have now become black.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Egypt
Accession Number
D96.a-c-1982
Department
Antiquities
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Physical description
Wooden figure of the syncretistic god of the dead and resurrection- Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. Characteristically slender and mummiform, the figure wears a double lappet wig and a crown comprising ram's horns, the solar disk and two tall feathers. The figure and base are made from wood and covered with a thin layer of gesso. The face and front of the figure are gilded, into which the details of the collar, pectoral and inscription are lightly incised, while the eyes and eyebrows are picked out in black. The wig is coloured with blue frit and the back is painted black. The inscription down the back is black on a yellow background. The crown is gilded on the front with details of the feathers incised and the back is painted with four alternating bands of colour- yellow, red, green and turquoise; the horns are painted black. The top, front and sides of the base have been silvered and the back gilded. A repeat motif of three hieroglyphic signs, an 'ankh' sign flanked by two 'was' signs on top of a 'neb' basket, is incised around all four sides of the plinth. There are bands of blue pigment / frit(?) around the edges of the top and sides. On the top of the base can be seen the outline of a rectangular object that was once attached. This possibly represents the base of a squatting falcon, being the god Sokar, which would have faced the figure. There is a single column of inscription down the front and a double column down the back plinth. The figure was made for the burial of a man called Hor, son of Djedher.