A finely carved hard wood head of an ibis. The beak has incised details and the face has strong, almost piercing eyes.
A finely carved hard wood head of an ibis. The beak has incised details and the face has strong, almost piercing eyes.
Provenance
American private collection, New York, acquired in London before 2000
Literature
The ibis was an animal considered sacred to the god Thoth, god of writing and wisdom. This wood ibis head would have originally crowned a mummy bundle containing a mummified ibis. Usually such heads were attached with the head turned backwards, the beak resting on the back of the animal, as if the bird was sleeping.
The survival of mummified animal remains from ancient Egypt are testimony to the religious phenomenon of sacred animal cults, the popularity of which increased during the seventh century BC. During this period, birds, in particular ibises and birds of prey, were captured or bred in captivity for the sole purpose of being mummified. These mummies were made available as votive offerings to pilgrims who visited sanctuaries dedicated to falcon deities, such as Horus, and to Thoth, the ibis god. For further reading see, Salima Ikram (ed.), Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt, Cairo, American University in Cairo Press, 2005.