Collection
/
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Animal Coffin

664–332 B.C.E.

1 of 4

Object Label

Some wooden animal mummy coffins have symbolic shapes. The cartouche shape signifies a protective enclosure and is also used in hieroglyphic writing to enclose and protect the king’s name. The obelisk shape relates both to the sun god and to an Egyptian word meaning “ibis,” one of the most common types of animal mummies.

CT scans of these two coffins have revealed poorly preserved remains inside that could not be identified.

Caption

Animal Coffin, 664–332 B.C.E.. Wood, linen, resin, gold leaf, animal remains or stones, 2 3/8 x 2 3/8 x 6 1/2 in. (6 x 6 x 16.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.1361E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum (Gavin Ashworth, photographer), 37.1361E_Gavin_Ashworth_photograph.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Title

Animal Coffin

Date

664–332 B.C.E.

Period

Late Period

Medium

Wood, linen, resin, gold leaf, animal remains or stones

Classification

Funerary Object

Dimensions

2 3/8 x 2 3/8 x 6 1/2 in. (6 x 6 x 16.5 cm)

Credit Line

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number

37.1361E

Rights

Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Frequent Art Questions

  • Could you please tell me a little more about this object? Is there any provenance? Do you know what kind of bones inside?

    Unfortunately the bones in this coffin could not be identified, they are too degraded. The Brooklyn Museum acquired this coffin and its contents from the New York Historical Society in 1937.
    Great! Thanks so much

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