Osiris was the god of vegetation and the underworld. He was the deity who oversaw the weighing of the heart, which determined whether the deceased was worthy of admittance into the afterlife. For this reason, he was revered by the deceased, and statuettes such as this one were made to be placed in tombs. Another reason for this veneration are the stories of the death of Osiris, his mummification and subsequent transition to the afterlife, an outcome which every human hoped to emulate.
