Egyptian Art Papyrus Painting

Osiris is shown here with five goddesses, including his sister/sister-in-law, Nephthys.

Brother of Nephthys and Seth, and the brother and husband of Isis. Osiris was usually depicted in human form wrapped up as a mummy, holding a crook and flail. He was often depicted with green skin, alluding to his role as a god of vegetation. He wore a crown known as the 'atef', composed of the tall conical white crown of Upper Egypt with red plumes on each side.

He was killed by his rival and brother, Seth. At a banquet of the gods, Seth fooled Osiris into stepping into a coffin, which he promptly slammed shut and cast into the Nile. Osiris was never seen again, walking in the land of the living.

The coffin was born by the Nile to the delta town of Byblos, where it became enclosed in a tamarisk tree. Isis, the wife of Osiris, discovered the coffin and brought it back home to guard. Isis gave birth to Horus after his death, having impregnated herself with semen from his corpse.

Taking advantage of Isis's absence from her vigil one day, Seth cut the body to pieces and cast them into the Nile. Isis searched the land for the body parts of Osiris, and was eventually able to piece together his body, whole save for the penis, which had been swallowed by a crocodile or a fish. Isis replaced the penis with a reasonable facsimile, and she was often portrayed in the form of a kite being impregnated by the ithyphallic corpse of Osiris.

Osiris became the great god of the underworld. He was associated with funerary rituals, at first only with those of the Egyptian monarch, later with those of the populace in general. The pharaoh was believed to become Osiris after his death. Although he was regarded as a guarantor of continued existence in the afterlife, Osiris also had a darker, demonic aspect associated with the physiological processes of death and decay, and reflecting the fear Egyptians had of death in spite of their belief in an afterlife. Osiris was also a judge of the dead, referred to as the 'lord of Maat'.

Approximate Size : 40cm x 30cm (16 inches x 12 inches)

All of our papyrus paintings are hand painted in Egypt on to genuine Egyptian papyrus and are of the highest quality.
Supplied without frame.