Falcon-Headed Sun-God
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
On View: Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
Egyptian religion frequently adopted a mulitplicity of approaches to explain or represent different aspects of a single divine concept. The sun god, for instance, had a morning aspect called Khepri, commonly depicted as a scarab beetle pushing the sun disk across the heavens much as a beetle rolls a ball of dung across the desert floor. The noontime sun was Re or Re-Horakhty, often shown as a falcon or falcon-headed man with a sun disk on his head. Atum, who personified the sun that set over the western horizon to travel through the underworld, could be represented in many guises, including those of a human-headed cobra, a ram-headed man, or a weary old man.
MEDIUM
Bronze, gold
DATES
ca. 100â30 B.C.E.
PERIOD
Ptolemaic Period (probably)
DIMENSIONS
4 15/16 in. (12.6 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
51.147.1
CREDIT LINE
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Gilt bronze relief figure of Horus (or Re-Harakhte?) mummyform with falcon head, seated and supporting large "m3't" feather on knees. Large sun-disk on head, tang on base and suspension loop on reverse of disk. Originally inlaid with glass. All details of reverse indicated by incisions.
Condition: Extensive areas of gold-leaf missing. Only three pieces of original glass inlay preserved. A few scattered areas of corrosion.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is on view in Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
CAPTION
Falcon-Headed Sun-God, ca. 100â30 B.C.E. Bronze, gold, 4 15/16 in. (12.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 51.147.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.51.147.1_wwgA-1.jpg)
IMAGE
installation, West Wing gallery A-1 installation, CUR.51.147.1_wwgA-1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2005
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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