In Search of a Missing Osiris-Hydreios

Abstract

The Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest preserves a bronze copy, presumably manufactured around the end of the 18th century, that shows all the characteristic traits of an ancient Egyptian or Egyptianizing Osiris-Hydreios. Although the original ancient object from which the Budapest copy was made is a piece well-known to Egyptology, it has been lost for centuries. Research has therefore been limited to the study of the available early modern (17th and 18th century) drawings of the missing original piece. This study aims to draw some conclusions about the ancient context and provenance of the missing object, as well as about the circumstances in which the Budapest copy was created.