Images(3)

Falcon Coffin

Made By Egyptian, anonymous

CultureEgyptian

DateLate Period (c. 664 BC -310 BC), Dynasty 26 -Macedonian Dynasty

PeriodLate Period

Mediumbronze with lapis lazuli inlay

DimensionsOverall: 6 5/16 x 2 1/4 x 5 1/4 in. (16 x 5.7 x 13.3 cm)
Base: 2 3/8 x 5 7/8 in. (6 x 15 cm)

Classification(s)

ANCIENT

Credit LineGift of Horace L. Mayer

Terms

falcon
Horus
Religion
coffin
votive

Object number58.2.1

DescriptionThis hollow cast, bronze statuette depicts a falcon, the sacred animal of Horus. The falcon stands upright in hieroglyphic form; its eyes are inlaid with lapis lazuli. The feet, which were cast separately, are now missing. There is an opening just below the tail, which was used to insert falcon bones into the coffin. Bronze coffins of this type were produced en masse from the Late Period into the Ptolemaic dynasty. They were deposited in sacred animal necropoleis, such as the one at N. Saqqara, often alongside other types of votive offerings.

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