Falcon Coffin
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
The god Horus was the son of the first king and queen, Osiris and Isis. Thus, in human form, he is often worshipped as a child. But Horus was strongly associated with the falcon and, as a sky god, with the sun. Images of Horus as a child are often found in falcon mummy cemeteries mixed together with falcon-shaped mummy coffins, as if they have similar votive functions.
MEDIUM
Bronze, animal remains, linen
DATES
664–332 B.C.E.
DYNASTY
Dynasty 26 to Dynasty 30
PERIOD
Late Period
DIMENSIONS
7 1/8 × 6 5/8 × 2 1/8 in. (18.1 × 16.8 × 5.4 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
37.416Ea-b
CREDIT LINE
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Shrine-shaped rectangular coffin for a falcon surmounted by a figure of a falcon shown standing and wearing the Double Crown (37.416Ea). Details of the feather and crown are indicated by means of incised lines. The opening in the coffin is at one of the ends, and the copper sealing it is brighter and more "coppery" in color than the rest of the piece. Contents (37.416Eb) removed.
Condition: Numerous scratches. Numerous small nicks, many with green corrosion in them. On the bottom surface are a number of holes where the metal has been eaten away.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Falcon Coffin, 664–332 B.C.E. Bronze, animal remains, linen, 7 1/8 × 6 5/8 × 2 1/8 in. (18.1 × 16.8 × 5.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.416Ea-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum (Gavin Ashworth,er), 37.416Ea-b_Gavin_Ashworth_photograph.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 37.416Ea-b_Gavin_Ashworth_photograph.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph (Gavin Ashworth, photographer), 2012
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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