Furniture Leg, Probably from a Bed

ca. 3000–2675 B.C.E.

1 of 4

Object Label

Ancient Egyptians often sat or slept on mats on the ground, and their earliest furniture was extremely low. This furniture leg is shaped like a bull’s hind leg atop a ribbed cylinder and probably comes from the foot of a bed. Rare examples of completely preserved beds indicate that the legs at the head of the bed would have represented a bull’s front legs.

Caption

Furniture Leg, Probably from a Bed, ca. 3000–2675 B.C.E.. Wood, 5 11/16 in. (14.5 cm) Base: 1 5/16 x 1 5/16 in. (3.4 x 3.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.290.4. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.36.290.4_NegA_bw.jpg)

Title

Furniture Leg, Probably from a Bed

Date

ca. 3000–2675 B.C.E.

Dynasty

Dynasty 1 to Dynasty 2

Period

early Dynastic Period

Geography

Place excavated: Abydos, Egypt

Medium

Wood

Classification

Furniture

Dimensions

5 11/16 in. (14.5 cm) Base: 1 5/16 x 1 5/16 in. (3.4 x 3.3 cm)

Credit Line

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number

36.290.4

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.

Have information?

Have information about an artwork? Contact us at

bkmcollections@brooklynmuseum.org.