#zmeaonline brings for this beginning of spring, a representative piece, a symbol of revival, rebirth, a bronze statuette, mummy, representing Osiris, one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt.
The myth of Osiris is the essential Egyptian myth, symbolizing the death and periodic resurrection of vegetation. Legend has it that Osiris was the pharaoh who taught the Egyptians agriculture and founded the city of Thebes. Envious of Osiris, his brother Seth assassinates him, his body dismembered into pieces and later scattered throughout Egypt. Isis, Pharaoh’s wife, gathers all the parts of Osiris ‘body and, with the help of Anubis’ ointments, brings him back to life. Osiris is classically described as a “deity” with green skin, the color of vegetation, a pharaoh-specific beard, wrapped like a mummy up to his waist, wearing a distinctive crown, known as an atef crown, and holding a whip, scepter and the crutch, as signs of power. The legend of Osiris has become well-known throughout the world and continues to fascinate generation after generation, which is why from the mythological subject it has become a source of inspiration for novels, film and even cartoons.
The bronze statuette of Osiris from the Egyptian collection of MNIT comes from the collections of the Transylvanian Museum, where he arrived as a donation. The 9 cm piece dates from the last part of the Ptolemaic period, the 2nd-1st centuries BC. The statuette is presented as an ensemble in which the bronze body is complete, with the original patina but with deposits of dirty dust located in the pores and deposits in the recesses. The gluing of the base piece was also repeated, with various adhesives, which led to the formation of unsightly burrs. In addition, the footwell was deep in the base of the base, with deposits of dust, sawdust and the mounting on the base was done without fixing the shaft and without adjusting the distance.
The curative conservation-restoration activities aimed at carrying out minimal interventions on the statuette, the aim being to stop the degradation and to restore its integrity. Thus, interventions for dry / wet removal of weakly adherent deposits and mechanical removal of strongly adherent deposits and traces of hardened adhesives from the base were performed. The adjustment of the mounting position and the structural consolidation, the filling of the technical gaps and the restoration of the color of the base by spraying matte black, based on water, were performed.
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Project Management Unit – PMU https://www.umpcultura.ro/