Bird Coffin of Iihetek
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Object Label
This extraordinary coffin contained two small bird mummies. It is shaped like an Egyptian shrine and decorated with images of the goddesses of mourning, Isis and Nephthys. The rear of the coffin displays a djed-pillar, a symbol of Osiris often found on the back of human coffins. The reasons why the man named Iihetek had this unusual coffin type made remain unclear.
Caption
Bird Coffin of Iihetek, 664–30 B.C.E.. Copper alloy, animal remains (2 individuals), linen, 15 1/4 x 3 1/2 x 2 11/16 in. (38.7 x 8.9 x 6.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.1391Ea-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.1391Ea-b_NegA_SL4.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Title
Bird Coffin of Iihetek
Date
664–30 B.C.E.
Dynasty
Dynasty 26, or later
Period
Late Period to Ptolemaic Period
Geography
Reportedly from: Saqqara, Egypt
Medium
Copper alloy, animal remains (2 individuals), linen
Classification
Dimensions
15 1/4 x 3 1/2 x 2 11/16 in. (38.7 x 8.9 x 6.8 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
37.1391Ea-b
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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