Horus falcon on shrine-shaped coffin

Oblong bronze pedestal (probably serving as coffin for a small mummified animal) surmounted by a Horus falcon wearing the Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Coffin apparently retains its contents. Surface: mingled green and brown patina.

Historical period(s)
Dynasty 26 or later, 664-524 BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W x D: 16.8 x 5.8 x 24.3 cm (6 5/8 x 2 5/16 x 9 9/16 in)
Geography
Egypt
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1907.154
On View Location
Freer Gallery 20: A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt
Classification(s)
Metalwork, Sculpture
Type

Figure: animal

Keywords
Egypt, falcon, Horus, Ptolemaic Dynasty (305 - 30 BCE)
Provenance

To 1907
Dikran G. Kelekian (1868-1951), Cairo, Egypt, Paris, France, and New York to 1907 [1]

From 1907 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Dikran G. Kelekian in 1907 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Bronze List, S.I. 32, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Dikran Garabed Kelekian (C.L. Freer source) 1868-1951

Description

Oblong bronze pedestal (probably serving as coffin for a small mummified animal) surmounted by a Horus falcon wearing the Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Coffin apparently retains its contents. Surface: mingled green and brown patina.

Inscription(s)

On upper surface of pedestal and well in front of falcon two lines of hieroglyphic inscription. The object appears to have been dedicated by a man called Pa-sheri-en-aset (The Child of Isis).

Label

This oblong bronze pedestal might have served as a coffin for a small mummified animal. It is surmounted by a Horus falcon wearing the Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Published References
  • Ann C. Gunter. A Collector's Journey: Charles Lang Freer and Egypt. Washington and London, 2002. p. 99, fig. 4.6.
Collection Area(s)
Ancient Egyptian Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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