Collection
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Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Head from a Ba-Bird Statue

Nubian

1 of 4

Object Label

The ancient Egyptians represented the ba (soul) as a human-headed bird, and the Nubians of the Meroitic Period (circa 270 b.c.e.–c.e. 350) took this idea to create their own type of ba-statues, with human bodies and bird’s wings. They also carved these sculptures, which were made for tombs, in a non-Egyptian style that approaches abstraction.

Caption

Nubian. Head from a Ba-Bird Statue, 1st century B.C.E.–2nd century C.E.. Sandstone, 6 3/4 x 5 x 6 in. (17.1 x 12.7 x 15.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 75.26. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Culture

Nubian

Title

Head from a Ba-Bird Statue

Date

1st century B.C.E.–2nd century C.E.

Period

Meroitic Period

Medium

Sandstone

Classification

Sculpture

Dimensions

6 3/4 x 5 x 6 in. (17.1 x 12.7 x 15.2 cm)

Credit Line

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number

75.26

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Artists and makers

Nubian

54 works in the collection