Small head of Osiris, Egypt, New Kingdom, XX dynasty,... Lot 8

Small head of Osiris, Egypt, New Kingdom, XX dynasty, circa 1189 - 1077 B.C. Finely worked head of a small Osiris statue made of almost black rock. The colour here might indicate the character of the god as a chthonic deity (god of the afterlife and rebirth) and is also interpreted as a reference to the dark, fertile Nile alluvial soil. On the head the crown of Upper Egypt. Broken at the top of the crown and at the neck. Various old bumps. Exquisite, impressive work. Height 6 cm, with base 14 cm. Provenance: From a private collection in the Rhineland, acquired in the 1980s on the French art market. With certificate of the gallery Arts Primitifs, Paris. Condition: II -