Antelope Head

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This head of an antelope represents Late Period animal sculpture at its very best. The well preserved right eye, inlaid with alabaster and agate, gives the animal a truly lifelike quality. The head was probably part of a ceremonial boat of hard stone that stood in a temple sanctuary. Boats with antelope heads at the prow were sacred to the god Sokar. A Sokar boat can be seen on the inner coffin of Kharushere (86.1.33a, b).. Another fine animal sculpture in the collection, slightly later in date, is the Museum's falcon with Nectanebo II of Dynasty 30 (see 34.2.1).

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art