“Vatican Naophorous”
Photogallery
“Vatican Naophorous”
The statue, already known in the seventeenth century as the “Vatican Naophorous”, depicts a figure named Udjahorresnet holding a naos bearing the image of Osiris. Udjahorresnet has the titles of chief physician, treasurer of the king of Lower Egypt and commander of the king’s fleet. Indeed, he lived between the end of Dynasty XXVI and the beginning of XXVII during the period in which Egypt became a Persian satrapy. In the inscription carved on his long robe, he describes the Achaemenid kings as respectful towards Egyptian tradition, presenting an image of the Persian occupation contrary to what we find in Greek sources, which are strongly influenced by anti-Persian propaganda.
The exact provenance of this statue is unknown, but it is assumed to have been found in the city of Sais in the Nile Delta. It was acquired without the head in 1738 and restored in 1783, with the addition of a non-pertinent head, subsequently removed.