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Anders Bettum, University of Oslo and postdoctoral fellow, British Museum
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Tomb figures from Ancient Egypt Anders Bettum, University of Oslo and postdoctoral fellow, British MuseumFor the past three months, I have had the pleasure of working on the British Museum’s
collection of a particular kind of funerary statues, known to Egyptologists as Ptah-Sokar-
Osiris figures. The Museum has 117 of these figures, originating from various periods
and many sites in Egypt. The assessment, documentation and registration of the
collection have been possible due to the new postdoctoral fellowships which were
granted by the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan for the first time this year (next
year’s fellowships are now advertised).
Anders in the Enlightenment Gallery, where the Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figure of Panakht (EA9749) is on
display.
From the 19th Dynasty (ca. 1295-1186 BC) to the Greco-Roman era, Egyptian elite
burials were often equipped with a statue of a deity in the form of a mummy
(mummiform). The god in question is identified as Osiris in the earlier sources, and later
as the composite god Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. The name ‘Osiris’ may be familiar to many
readers from the myth in which he defeats death and becomes the king of the dead in the
Netherworld. Through the funerary ritual, the dead were assimilated with Osiris, hoping
they too could live on happily in the Netherworld among gods and ancestors. The statue
may therefore have been regarded not only as an image of the god, but also of the
deceased. Ptah is one of the principal creator gods from Ancient Egypt, and the merging
of this god with Osiris resulted in a powerful promise that death would be followed by new
life. Sokar, the third member of the triad, was also a popular Netherworld deity. Like Ptah,
he originates from the ancient capital of Memphis, and the two were often associated
with one another. All three deities were depicted mummiform in the iconography, Ptah
and Osiris as mummified men, Sokar as a mummified falcon.
The magnificent Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figure of Neswy (EA9737)
What I was soon to learn on arrival at the Museum is how complex these statues are.
The figure itself, ranging in height from 30 to 60 cm, is carved from one piece of wood,
plastered, painted in vivid colours and inscribed on the front and back with hieroglyphic
texts. For the richest burials, the face and other details of the figure were gilded. The
polychrome decoration is sometimes coated with a black, resinous varnish. Pegged to
the head is a composite crown consisting of two elements: a vertical pair of model ostrich
feathers emerging from a sun-disc and a horizontal pair of ram horns. The false beard on
the chin is sometimes carved as a separate piece. A peg was left also under the feet of
the figure, to fit into the mortise in a rectangular base. The base was colourfully painted,
in some cases with depictions of water basins, lotus flowers and other symbols of
resurrection, power and life. It was also inscribed with hieroglyphic texts. Occasionally, a
model sarcophagus was carved as a separate piece and mounted to the front of the
base. On top of the sarcophagus, a small mummiform falcon is perched, facing the
mummiform figure. A single statue therefore consists of about seven separately carved
pieces.
But that is not all. What makes the Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figures different from all other
funerary statues is the peculiar fact that they are not only images of the deceased
assimilated to certain gods, but also containers of a certain object. A Ptah-Sokar-Osiris
figure always has a cavity carved into it, either in the base or in the figure itself. In the
19th to the 22nd Dynasties, the contained object was usually a papyrus inscribed with
funerary texts to aid the transformation of the deceased in the afterlife. The famous
funerary papyri of Hunefer and Anhai were found inside such statues. In later times, the
papyrus was replaced with a part of the mummy of the deceased or alternatively a
substitute thereof, a so-called ‘corn-mummy’.
Mummy-shaped cavity in the base of the Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figure of Horendjitef (EA9736). The content,
which appears to be a mummified lump of grass, is still intact.
Throughout the more than one thousand years in which these statues were in use, a
great variety of mechanisms for closing the cavity are attested. Most impressive are
perhaps the figures that were carved like anthropoid coffins, with a case and lid that were
closed and sealed before being inserted into the mortise of the base. Another common
type is the model sarcophagus that worked as a sliding lid, and can still be ‘clicked’ into
place with a simple push to close the cavity.
It is intriguing to think about the time, effort end skill that went into the production of these
objects, and how people living thousands of years ago assembled the statue, filled it with
its mysterious contents before sealing the cavity and placing the it in the tomb. These
activities were undoubtedly ritualized and carried out by mortuary priests as part of the
larger funerary ritual.
This colorful statue (EA 9884) was made as a model coffin. The name of the owner has not yet been
deciphered.
With their polychromy and glint of gold, the inscriptions, the complexity and mechanical
aspect, the hidden ‘treasure’ inside and its connection to grand mythological and ritual
narratives, the Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figure have always been popular collector’s items. The
manageable size of the object must also have contributed to their rapid distribution to
museums all over the world. Studying the collection of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figures in the
British Museum, I have come across no less than 290 related objects. In addition to the
117 figures, the collection consist of a number of loose bases, ram horns, ostrich
feathers, model sarcophagi and mummiform falcons that parted with their figure decades,
centuries or even millennia ago. Only about a dozen are relatively intact assemblages,
but this number will hopefully increase as more parts are matched with one another.
Every piece has now been thoroughly documented for the benefit of researchers and
curious visitors. The analysis of the materials contained within still remains to be done,
and will undoubtedly cast new light on a funerary custom that is still poorly understood.