Sarapis, also spelled Serapis, is the Greek face of the Egyptian god Osiris syncretised with the sacred Apis bull of Memphis. He is the lord of the underworld, and is sometimes depicted as Hades, with the three-headed dog Cerberus. As the ruler of a pantheon, of sorts, is sometimes syncretised with Zeus and other great gods such as Helios and Mithras. Sarapis was the patron god of Alexandria, and his temple was closely associated with the famous library. He first appeared in this form in Egypt under Greek rule after the death of Alexander, but he was a popular god in the Roman world alongside his consort, Isis.

Sarapis was painted in gouache on hot pressed water colour paper. The gold consists of dry metallic pigment bound with starch.