Erotic Composition
305-30 B.C.E.
Maker Unknown
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
Despite the overtly sexual imagery, this composition has important religious content. The procreative union recalls the birth of Horus after the murdered Osiris posthumously impregnated his wife Isis. This legend, one of ancient Egypt’s most important myths, was associated with fertility and resurrection. The six small figures probably represent priests. The bound oryx held by the two attendants at the right signifies the destruction of evil and reinforces Osiris’s triumph.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Formatted Medium
- Limestone, pigment
- Locations
- Place made: Alexandria, Egypt
- Period
- Early Ptolemaic Period
- Dimensions
- 6 1/2 x 3 3/4 x 6 11/16 in. (16.5 x 9.5 x 17 cm)
- Accession Number
- 58.13
- Credit Line
- Gift in memory of Dr. Jacob Hirsch and Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
- Exhibitions
- Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Cleopatra's Egypt: Age of the Ptolemies, Ancient Egyptian Art
- Rights Statement
- Creative Commons-BY
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