Horus Falcon
(Ancient Egypt and Nubia )
Statuettes of hawks were popular in Ancient Egypt from the earliest times. Most of them were related to Horus, the god of kingship and deity of the sky. This figure has the double-crown of Upper and Lower Egypt on the head. The base of the piece is lost; it would have been inscribed with the name of the god and donor.
X-rays of this piece reveal an interior hollow space (marked by a sealed cover on the underside of the bird) containing the bones of a bird, presumably a temple-raised hawk. This made the statuette an effective representative of its donor.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1911 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Conservation
Date | Description | Narrative |
---|---|---|
4/30/1957 | Treatment | cleaned |
6/20/1961 | Treatment | cleaned; stabilized; coated |
7/1/1981 | Examination | examined for condition |
Geographies
Egypt (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 5 13/16 in. (14.8 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1911
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
54.2118