Back View of the "Erotic Composition" Figurine in the Brooklyn Museum, August 2007

Erotic Composition
Limestone
Ptolemaic Period, 305-30 BC
Perhaps from Alexandria
Accession # 58.13

Despite the overtly overly sexual imagery, this composition has important religious content. The procreative union recalls the birth of Horus after the murdered Osirus posthumously impregnated his wife Isis. This legend, one of ancient Egypt's most important myths, was associated with fertility and resurrection. The six small figures probably represent priests. The bound oryx held by the two attendants at the right signifies the destruction of evil and reinforces Osirus' triumph.

Text from the Brooklyn Museum label.