Pendant of an ibis wearing an atef crown
The ibis was sacred to the scribal god Thoth, a deity also closely associated with the moon.This striding bird wears an atef crown, often seen worn by the funerary god Osiris, topped by the sun disk of the solar deity Re.
Along with the cat, falcon, and Apis bull, the ibis was one of the sacred animals most frequently represented in statuettes of copper alloy during the first millennium B.C. The popularity of the ibis cult is attested by the thousands of mummies of this bird found in animal catacombs throughout Egypt. Figures such as this one have been found alongside the mummies in the catacombs, as well as in caches related to temples and shrines. The loop on the back suggests that it was meant to be carried or suspended.
Along with the cat, falcon, and Apis bull, the ibis was one of the sacred animals most frequently represented in statuettes of copper alloy during the first millennium B.C. The popularity of the ibis cult is attested by the thousands of mummies of this bird found in animal catacombs throughout Egypt. Figures such as this one have been found alongside the mummies in the catacombs, as well as in caches related to temples and shrines. The loop on the back suggests that it was meant to be carried or suspended.
Artwork Details
- Title: Pendant of an ibis wearing an atef crown
- Period: Late Period–Ptolemaic Period
- Date: 664–30 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Cupreous metal
- Dimensions: H. 7 × L. 4.6 × W. 1.5 cm (2 3/4 × 1 13/16 × 9/16 in.)
- Credit Line: Bequest of Nanette B. Kelekian, 2020
- Object Number: 2021.41.156
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
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