sigmund freud's collection an archaeology of the mind
sigmund freud's collection an archaeology of the mind
sigmund freud's collection an archaeology of the mind
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Head <strong>of</strong> Osiris<br />
Egypti<strong>an</strong>, Third Intermediate period, 1075–716 BC<br />
bronze, 30.5 x 7.0 x 8.5 cm<br />
LDFRD 3128<br />
Collection Freud Museum London<br />
Freud’s bronze Head <strong>of</strong> Osiris enjoyed a privileged position on his<br />
desk. Osiris was <strong>the</strong> lord <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> underworld who guided <strong>the</strong> dead on<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir journeys to <strong>the</strong> afterlife <strong>an</strong>d presided at <strong>the</strong>ir trial, known as <strong>the</strong><br />
Weighing <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Heart. He was Egypt’s most popular deity, beloved<br />
because he combined <strong>the</strong> roles <strong>of</strong> god, m<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>d saviour. Killed by his<br />
bro<strong>the</strong>r Seth, Osiris was returned to life by <strong>the</strong> rituals <strong>of</strong> Isis, his wife,<br />
his sister <strong>an</strong>d a powerful witch. Incest was tolerated among Egypti<strong>an</strong><br />
royalty. Freud commented it was ‘merely bro<strong>the</strong>r-<strong>an</strong>d-sister incest,<br />
which even at <strong>the</strong> present time is not judged so harshly.’ 1<br />
Egypti<strong>an</strong> art forms <strong>the</strong> bulk <strong>of</strong> Freud’s <strong>collection</strong>. He wrote, ‘No o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
people <strong>of</strong> <strong>an</strong>tiquity did so much [as <strong>the</strong> Egypti<strong>an</strong>s] to deny death or<br />
took such pains to make existence in <strong>the</strong> next world possible.’ 2 Freud,<br />
who beg<strong>an</strong> collecting art in 1896 following <strong>the</strong> death <strong>of</strong> his fa<strong>the</strong>r, was<br />
intrigued by <strong>the</strong>ir rituals for rebirth. The Egypti<strong>an</strong> items in his <strong>collection</strong><br />
symbolically chart a preoccupation with mourning. Freud described<br />
mourning as work. Equally, it is a journey from <strong>the</strong> darkness <strong>of</strong> grief<br />
to <strong>the</strong> light <strong>of</strong> recovery <strong>an</strong>d renewal, <strong>the</strong> same journey that Egypti<strong>an</strong>s<br />
believed literally took place in <strong>the</strong> afterlife.<br />
Osiris’ expression is calm <strong>an</strong>d dignifi ed, yet he seems youthful,<br />
perhaps fi tting for a god who dies only to live again, a boy-god who<br />
defeats old age <strong>an</strong>d death. Osiris wears a crown decorated with<br />
a uraeus, <strong>the</strong> sacred cobra <strong>of</strong> Egypt. Osiris has lost much <strong>of</strong> his<br />
magnifi cence over time. His eyes, now empty sockets, would once<br />
have been inlaid with precious stones. He is also missing his beard <strong>an</strong>d<br />
<strong>the</strong> plumes <strong>an</strong>d disc <strong>of</strong> his crown. Nose, mouth <strong>an</strong>d cheeks are scored,<br />
probably by <strong>the</strong> same tomb robbers who stole his adornments. Once<br />
Osiris’s head would have sat atop <strong>an</strong> impressive bronze torso, a cult<br />
fi gure presented to <strong>the</strong> god by a wealthy worshipper.<br />
1. Sigmund Freud, Totem <strong>an</strong>d Taboo, S.E. vol XXIII, p.1.<br />
2. Sigmund Freud, Moses <strong>an</strong>d Mono<strong>the</strong>ism, (1939), S.E, vol XXIII, pp.19-20.<br />
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