Statue of Osiris, Ruler of Eternity

A dark wooden standing figure wears a tall crown and a tight-fitting sheath, with arms crossed over the chest holding a crook and flail. Inlays of colored stone and glass mark the collar and arms. The figure stands upright on a plain square base against a neutral gray backdrop.

Look closer: Blue inlaid bands along the upper arms and the stripes on the chest are easy to overlook against the dark wood.

Artist

Unknown

Date

945–721 BCE

Medium

Wood, jasper, obsidian, bone, clinochlore, Egyptian blue, probably modern glass and blue inlays

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

3033 × 4000 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Liana Weindling Bequest, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift and Mary Trumbull Adams Fund, 2025