Brooklyn Museum: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Standing Figure of an Ibis

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Standing Figure of an Ibis

Animal mummies were routinely placed in some type of container once the animal had been wrapped in linen. The more ordinary containers were specially designed or reused pottery jars. Such objects have been found by the tens of thousands in so-called animal cemeteries at a number of sites in Egypt.

At times elaborate coffins were crafted to hold the animal mummies. Just as human coffins were anthropoid, 50 animal coffins took the form of the animal contained. The ibis mummy held by this coffin was placed within through the detachable lid on the back. The gilding of the body and the exquisite detailing of the head, legs, and feet make this example one of the finest of its kind.

Medium: Wood, silver, gold, and rock crystal
Possible Place Collected: Tuna el-Gebel, Egypt
Dates: 305-30 B.C.E.
Period: Ptolemaic Period
Dimensions: 15 1/16 x 23 1/8 in. (38.2 x 58.7 cm)
Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
Accession Number: 49.48
Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Image: 3/4, 49.48_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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Ibis Coffin

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Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Standing Figure of an Ibis