Crocodile Head and Ibis
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
In the Old Kingdom (circa 2670–2195 B.C.) silver was more valuable than gold, but this gradually changed. By the New Kingdom gold was twice as valuable as silver, and by the Ptolemaic Period it was thirteen times as valuable. This, along with the corrosiveness of silver, may explain why many of the silver sculptures known from ancient Egypt are Ptolemaic in date.
Caption
Crocodile Head and Ibis, 305–30 B.C.E.. Silver, 13/16 x 9/16 x 1 9/16 in. (2 x 1.5 x 3.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 68.83.1. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Title
Crocodile Head and Ibis
Date
305–30 B.C.E.
Period
Ptolemaic Period (possibly)
Geography
Reportedly from: Memphis, Egypt
Medium
Silver
Classification
Dimensions
13/16 x 9/16 x 1 9/16 in. (2 x 1.5 x 3.9 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
68.83.1
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