Case for an animal mummy topped by a falcon

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The falcon god Horus stands with his wings swept back. He has a prominent beak, large rounded eyes, and a strong brow, which supports the double crown of Egypt. This royal crown symbolizes the union of Lower and Upper Egypt, and highlights Horus’ role as the legitimate ruler of the entire land. On this particular figure, the crown’s elements are closely modeled together but are still distinct: the red crown of Lower Egypt, complete with its curling spiral at the front, and the white crown of Upper Egypt. The falcon wears the double crown because Horus and the concept of kingship were closely tied, as early as the Predynastic Period. The falcon stands on a rectangular receptacle that would have held an animal mummy. The back end is open where the mummy, now lost, would have been inserted. Such falcon mummy boxes, or sarcophagi, would have been offered for deposition in animal necropoleis, not just in relation to the cult of Horus, but also more broadly in association with solar cult.

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