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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
  • Reportedly From: Saqqara, Egypt
  • 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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