Artwork
Funerary Bed
DepartmentAncient Mediterranean Art
CultureEgyptian
Dateca. 664-525 B.C.
MediumWood and bronze
Dimensions34 1/16 x 67 5/16 x 44 1/8 in. (86.5 x 171 x 112 cm)
Credit LinePurchased with the Antiquities Acquisition Fund
Object number91.7
GeographyDescriptionThe bed consists of two wood planks that run the length of the bed set in a frame of four thicker pieces of wood. Each corner is fastened with a bronze bracket, two of which take the shape of lions' heads. The bed's feet are fashioned like lions' legs and paws. Traces of an inscription remain on the bed's upper surface.Label TextBeds decorated with lion heads and paws appeared early in the Dynastic Period. Embalming beds with such decoration are shown on funerary monuments, including coffins and stelae, and elaborate examples were discovered in Tutankhamen's tomb. Although some of the wooden portions of this bed do not appear to have belonged to it originally, the lion heads are good examples of Late Period bronze casting. (Gallery Label, 8/2002).Provenancewith Peter Diem by 1988; sold by Norman Hurst, Hurst Gallery, Cambridge, MA, to San Antonio Museum of Art, 1991Exhibition History"Mummies and Magic: The Funerary Arts of Ancient Egypt," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1988; Dallas Museum of Art, 1990.Published ReferencesS. D'Auria, P. Lacovara, and C.H. Roehrig, Mummies and Magic: The Funerary Arts of Ancient Egypt (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1988, reprinted 1992), pp. 221-222, cat. no. 171.On view
Collections
Walker Evans
Summer 1936, printed later
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
