Image of a Ba-Bird on a Footpiece from a Coffin. Egypt. Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22, circa 945−712 B.C.E. Wood and plaster, painted, 11 x 12 5/8 x 5 5/8 in. (28 x 32.1 x 14.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 75.27
The human-headed bird represents the ba-soul, part of the Egyptian soul that could leave the tomb and travel both in this world and in the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians recited spells to ensure that the ba returned to the mummy, its natural home, from its various journeys.
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