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Egyptian figure of an ibis

Price: on request
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Object number
AR3004
Object: Egyptian figure of an ibis

Material: Body made of plastered wood, head and legs made of bronze.

Period: Late Period of ancient Egypt.
26th to 31st dynasty,
664 BC to 332 BC.

Description:    Naturalistic figure of a seated ibis. The body of the bird is made of wood and covered with a layer of stucco. Details are not modeled. The head and legs are made of bronze and attached to the wooden body. The neck follows and S-curve, the head ends in a thick curved bill. Hollow eye sockets that possibly held inlays once. There are four pins beneath the legs that were used to mount the bird on a wooden base.
The ibis was the sacred bird of Thoth, god of wisdom and the scienes.

Dimensions: Approx. 16.5cm long, approx. 6.0cm wide, 11.6cm high.

Condition: Very good condition. Wooden body and bronze extremities intact and belonging, which is extremely rare for this type of object. Even the stucco and paint is preserved to a large extent, apart from some cracks and flakes that came off. The bronze is very well preserved with a nice patina. Accompanied by an old hand written note that was once attached to a foot of the bird. It gives some provenance details found further below in this description.

Provenance: Acquired by us in 2020 on the German art market. Previously in German private possession. Acquired in April 1963 in Saqqara, Egypt. There is a high probability that the piece was also found in the vicinity of Saqqara.
According to a hand written note the ibis was examined by the Munich based Egyptologist Professor Mueller and found to be from the 26th dynasty.

References: Cf. E. Brunner-Traut, H. Brunner, J. Zick-Nissen, Osiris Kreuz Halbmond, p. 34 and 36, no. 20.

Authenticity: We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.