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Photo of collection object Erotic Composition — Erotic Composition, 305-30 B.C.E.. Limestone, pigment, 6 1/2 x 3 3/4 x 6 11/16 in. (16.5 x 9.5 x 17 cm). Gift in memory of Dr. Jacob Hirsch and Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 58.13. Creative Commons-BY.

Brooklyn Museum

Brooklyn Museum

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.

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Maker Unknown
Classification: Sculpture
Formatted Medium: Limestone, pigment
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)
Departments: Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
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
Museum Location: 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
Dominant Colors

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Erotic Composition | musefully