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Horus Falcon-Form Coffin

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

The god Horus was the son of the first king and queen, Osiris and Isis. Thus, in human form, he is often worshipped as a child. But Horus was strongly associated with the falcon and, as a sky god, with the sun. Images of Horus as a child are often found in falcon mummy cemeteries mixed together with falcon-shaped mummy coffins, as if they have similar votive functions.
MEDIUM Bronze, gold
  • Place Made: Egypt
  • DATES 664–30 B.C.E.
    DYNASTY Dynasty 26, or later
    PERIOD Late Period to Ptolemaic Period
    DIMENSIONS 11 3/4 x 2 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. (29.8 x 7 x 29.2 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 05.394
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    PROVENANCE Archaeological provenance not yet documented; by 1905, acquired by Rollin and Feuardent, Paris, France; April 25, 1905, purchased from Rollin and Feuardent by the Brooklyn Museum.
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    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Horus Falcon-Form Coffin, 664–30 B.C.E. Bronze, gold, 11 3/4 x 2 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. (29.8 x 7 x 29.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 05.394. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum (Gavin Ashworth,er), 05.394_Gavin_Ashworth_photograph.jpg)
    IMAGE threequarter, 05.394_Gavin_Ashworth_photograph.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph (Gavin Ashworth, photographer), 2012
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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