Statue of a prince
This statue, standing on a rectangular base, depicts a kneeling young man, holding a small shrine, naos, between his knees in which the deity Ptah-Sokar-Osiris can be seen in relief: a mummy-shaped human figure with a falcon's head and an Atef-crown, holding a long staff with a crooked end in his hands. The head of the young prince is covered with short, curled wig. The "lock of youth" on the right side is wrapped around with a decorative ribbon, and its curled end falls onto his right shoulder.
His back is covered with stylised panther skin. A vertical column of hieroglyphic text is engraved on the back pillar: "An offering, which the king gives to Osiris-Apis, the Foremost of the West, that he may give life, wealth and health to the Hereditary Prince of His Majesty, "the master-craftsman", the sem-priest of Ptah, the justified Shoshenq, the [eldest] son of the King of the Two Lands [...] Osorkon. His mother is Karama."
Therefore, the prince was the eldest son and heir of one of the rulers of the 22nd dynasty, Osorkon II.
Despite of his young age, he bore the title of the high-priest of Ptah ("the master-craftsman") . Unfortunately, not for long, he died while his father was still alive, hence he did not become the heir to the throne.
22nd dynasty, from Saqqara (found in the cemetery of Apis bulls (Serapeum) in 1852)
Inv. no. 51.2050
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
Statue of a prince
This statue, standing on a rectangular base, depicts a kneeling young man, holding a small shrine, naos, between his knees in which the deity Ptah-Sokar-Osiris can be seen in relief: a mummy-shaped human figure with a falcon's head and an Atef-crown, holding a long staff with a crooked end in his hands. The head of the young prince is covered with short, curled wig. The "lock of youth" on the right side is wrapped around with a decorative ribbon, and its curled end falls onto his right shoulder.
His back is covered with stylised panther skin. A vertical column of hieroglyphic text is engraved on the back pillar: "An offering, which the king gives to Osiris-Apis, the Foremost of the West, that he may give life, wealth and health to the Hereditary Prince of His Majesty, "the master-craftsman", the sem-priest of Ptah, the justified Shoshenq, the [eldest] son of the King of the Two Lands [...] Osorkon. His mother is Karama."
Therefore, the prince was the eldest son and heir of one of the rulers of the 22nd dynasty, Osorkon II.
Despite of his young age, he bore the title of the high-priest of Ptah ("the master-craftsman") . Unfortunately, not for long, he died while his father was still alive, hence he did not become the heir to the throne.
22nd dynasty, from Saqqara (found in the cemetery of Apis bulls (Serapeum) in 1852)
Inv. no. 51.2050
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest