One of the most interesting aspects of this life size statue of the god Osiris is that it was quite likely used as a cult statue for worship. It is in wood, finished with plaster or gesso, and was painted; originally, the body of the god was wrapped in linen bands exactly like an Egyptian mummy, so that the statue showed the entombed Osiris as god of the dead or of the afterlife. The eyes are inlaid with glass and stone, giving it a piercing and slightly unsettling gaze. Osiris wears the alef crown, flanked by the double feathers of the pharoah, and carries the crook and flail that were royal insignia, made of bronze. His braided beard is another symbol of royal dignity. But while originally, Osiris was specifically the god of the royal dead, by the Ptolemaic period the cult had become, so to speak, more democratic, and every individual could count on being ‘associated with Osiris’ in death, thus acquiring immortality.
