Origin: Egypt
Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC
Dimensions: 3.2" (8.1cm) high x 5.5" (14.0cm) wide
Collection: Egyptian Antiquities
Style: 26th Dynasty
Medium: Bronze
The waters of the ancient Nile were full of fish, certain species of which came to be worshipped as gods because it was believed they could suppress evil. In the town of Oxyrhynchus in Upper Egypt, the curve-nose Mormyrus fish was the centre of a large cult that eventually spread widely through the land. According to mythology, the sacred fish figured prominently in the resurrection of the god Osiris and this was one of the reasons for its deification. In this splendid sculpture, the god is shown crowned by the cow horns of Hathor, the sun disc of Ra and the cobra Uraeus. He rests regally atop a sled that may have been used for display at festivals. We sense intuitively his divine status, and that his kingdom is the cosmic rather than the earthly river. - (FZ.277)

Antiquities
Ancient Egyptian