Mummiform Falcon with Inscribed MenatThird Intermediate Period (1076-655 BCE)

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Life and Afterlife: Imagery of Early Egypt

Title: Mummiform Falcon with Inscribed Menat
Place Made: Egypt, probably Thebes
Date Made: Third Intermediate Period (1076-655 BCE)
Medium: Wood, gesso, and pigments
Dimensions: 8 7/8 × 4 1/2 × 12 in. (22.54 × 11.43 × 30.48 cm)
Credit Line: William Randolph Hearst Foundation
Accession Number: 50.4.19
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: Egyptian Art
Curatorial Notes: This mummiform falcon represents Sokar, a funerary god associated with Osiris and the guardian of the necropolis serving the major city of Memphis. Wood falcons of this type were sometimes attached by pegs to the top of a canopic chest containing the organs of the deceased or a naos shrine. A painted counterpoise to the broad collar necklace painted on the falcon’s chest runs down the back of the bird and bears a partially legible inscription, “Lady of the House, the Daughter of a Prophet,” but the name of the specific individual is unreadable.

Provenance: Possible collection Robert (Roman Orbeliani) Rustafjaell (1859-1943) b. Saint Petersburg, Russia, d. New York); sold at auction Parke-Bernet Galleries -Inc, New York, December 13, 1949, cat 196, p. 31 illus.; Gift of William Randolph Hearst to LACMA, 1949.

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Life and Afterlife: Imagery of Early Egypt

Title: Mummiform Falcon with Inscribed Menat
Place Made: Egypt, probably Thebes
Date Made: Third Intermediate Period (1076-655 BCE)
Medium: Wood, gesso, and pigments
Dimensions: 8 7/8 × 4 1/2 × 12 in. (22.54 × 11.43 × 30.48 cm)
Credit Line: William Randolph Hearst Foundation
Accession Number: 50.4.19
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: Egyptian Art
Curatorial Notes: This mummiform falcon represents Sokar, a funerary god associated with Osiris and the guardian of the necropolis serving the major city of Memphis. Wood falcons of this type were sometimes attached by pegs to the top of a canopic chest containing the organs of the deceased or a naos shrine. A painted counterpoise to the broad collar necklace painted on the falcon’s chest runs down the back of the bird and bears a partially legible inscription, “Lady of the House, the Daughter of a Prophet,” but the name of the specific individual is unreadable.

Provenance: Possible collection Robert (Roman Orbeliani) Rustafjaell (1859-1943) b. Saint Petersburg, Russia, d. New York); sold at auction Parke-Bernet Galleries -Inc, New York, December 13, 1949, cat 196, p. 31 illus.; Gift of William Randolph Hearst to LACMA, 1949.