Wood Sarcophagus of a Falcon with the Belonging Falcon Mummy

Culture: Egyptian

Period: 26th dynasty, 664-525 B.C.

Material: Wood, linen, mummy, bitumen

Dimensions: 55 cm high

Price: Sold

Ref: 1506

Provenance: Gallery Carrefour before 1988. With two original expertises by Pierre Verité of February 1988. Thence with the art dealer Giano Del Bufalo. Accompanied by a French antiquities passport.

Condition: Intact and exceptionally beautifully preserved.

Description: Completely preserved wood sarcophagus with the belonging falcon mummy dating to the 26th dynasty of Egypt. The lid of the sarcophagus in the shape of a falcon, which represents the god Horus. The falcon's head is painted beige and black, the eyes are round, the beak protrudes like a hook. Horus wears a tripartite wig with two lobes cascading over the shoulder. The body in mummiform, the feet sculpturally protruding. The coffin itself is hollowed out. Inside lies the mummy of a falcon wrapped in painted linen. The binding is in herringbone shape. The head of the mummy wears a white hood, which is decorated with black color and bitumen. The beak is also sculpturally protruding. An x-ray image depicts the intact skeleton of the bird with folded wings, imitating the shape of a human mummy. The right wing is broken, meaning the animal was deliberately mutilated and intended as a sacrificial offering. The coffin and lid are connected to each other by a plug-in system. With a belonging glass case, where the sarcophagus can be presented closed and standing. See for the type the falcon mummy in the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest with the inventory number 98.4-E.