Relief Fragment with Two Birds in the Papyrus Thicket

Relief Fragment with Two Birds in the Papyrus Thicket

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This exquisitely carved and delicately painted relief shows a gray heron and another bird, possibly a purple heron, perched within a mass of papyrus plants. In the upper right, the curved form with painted X-marks likely represents a nest that contained either baby birds or a mother sitting on eggs, both of which are common vignettes in marsh scenes. Originally part of a larger tableau, the small fragment is jewel-like in its fine detail.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Relief Fragment with Two Birds in the Papyrus ThicketRelief Fragment with Two Birds in the Papyrus ThicketRelief Fragment with Two Birds in the Papyrus ThicketRelief Fragment with Two Birds in the Papyrus ThicketRelief Fragment with Two Birds in the Papyrus Thicket

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.