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 7 15/16 x 21 15/16 in. (38.2 x 20.2 x 55.8 cm)
- Collections:Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near 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
- Rights Statement: Creative Commons-BY-NC
- Caption: Standing Figure of an Ibis, 305-30 B.C.E. Wood, silver, gold, and rock crystal, 15 1/16 x 7 15/16 x 21 15/16 in. (38.2 x 20.2 x 55.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 49.48. Creative Commons-BY-NC
- Catalogue Description: Standing figure of an ibis serving as container for mummified ibis. Wooden body, entire surface gilded. Conventionalized tail indicated by black paint over the gilt. Top of body cut for cover which runs entire length of body. Head and feet cast (solid?) in silver. Eyes of crystal outlined in gold. Incised necklace at base of neck. Mounted on oblong wooden base, apparently original, of rough work. Mummified ibis within body. Condition: Intact. Minor chips along edges of cover. One section on front of body where gesso base has lifted and cracked. Gilt is covered with resin (?) which may be remains of a varnish.
- Record Completeness: Best (91%)
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Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum
though
digging for food in the mud
with its long crescent-curved bill
still it becomes the head of Thoth
God of wisdom, poetry and arts
Ibis the ordinary
becomes the symbol of time, measurement,
science, learning
and the Logos
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