Head and Shoulders from an Osiride Statue
Dynasty 18, joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III
Painted limestone
From Thebes, originally from one of the Hatshepsut's temple pillars on the upper terrace,
excavated in fragments scattered throughout the quarry, with a few fragments found in the 'Hatshepsut Hole'
MMA excavations, 1922-23, 1926-28
|
(From info card): "The front of Hatshepsut's uppermost portico consisted of twenty-four square pillars, each with a colossal mummi-form (Osiride) statue attached to it. Carved in one piece together with the pillars, the statues formed an integral part of the architecture, and their huge size made them clearly visible even from far away." |
|
"Even if it is not absolutely certain that the particular head seen here really sat on the particular shoulders with which it is now joined, the fit is close enough to convey an impression of what the imposing pillar figures looked like. As in all the Osirides attached to pillars, the female pharaoh was represented crossing her arms over her chest, holding the royal crook and a was (dominion) scepter at her right head and the flail and an ankh (life) amulet at her left." The temple of Hatshepsut still has at least a few of these Osiride statues. Perhaps the one at the Met looked like the following when it was in better shape:
 This image courtesy of "Kairoinfo4u" who gives 'creative commons' (See it full size.)
|
