Sculpted group of Osiris flanked by his son Horus and a king

New Kingdom, 19th-20th dynasties.
Granite
H.: 1.34 m; W.: 0.78 m
Department of Egyptian Antiquities, Musée du Louvre
(A 12)

The god Osiris, in the middle, folds his hands on his chest and holds the symbols of royal power, the crook (heka) and the flail (nekhakha). To his left the falcon-headed god Horus wears the pschent, a combination of the white crown of Upper Egypt and the red crown of Lower Egypt, demonstrating the power of Horus (and his successors, the pharaohs) over both parts of the country. To Osiris’s right, a figure wears the headdress typical of a pharaoh: the striped nemes that falls on both sides to the shoulders, on top of which is the same crown worn by Horus. The name of this pharaoh is not known, but the style—massive silhouette, somewhat squat face—is typical of the Ramessid dynasty. Through this symmetrical composition, the reigning king—or at any rate, the one who had this sculpture made—is shown as the legitimate heir to the god Osiris, just like the god’s real heir, Horus, shown on the right.

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