Lord of the dead.

Corn mummy (wood, clay, sand, corn and linen). Ptolemaic Period, ca. 332-30 BC. Now in the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York.

During annual rituals honouring Osiris, the ancient Egyptians fashioned small “mummies” from a mixture of clay, sand, and grains of corn. These “mummies” were wrapped in layers of bandages and placed in coffins decorated with images of the falcon god Sokar. The Egyptians considered corn a living element of a natural cycle embodying the concept of resurrection and renewal. This concept was crucial to the worship of Osiris, who died and was resurrected as Lord of the dead.