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Fish
Fish

Fish

DepartmentAncient Mediterranean Art
CultureEgyptian
Dateca. 712-30 B.C.
MediumBronze
Dimensions1 3/4 x 3 7/8 in. (4.5 x 9.9 cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection
Object number86.138.242
GeographyDescriptionBronze statuette of a fish a rectangular base. The eyes and scales are incised into the surface. It may have been attached to the lid of an animal coffin.Label TextBecause the ancient Egyptians associated fish with the primeval ocean where all life originated, it was taboo for royalty and priests to eat them. Mass burials of fish were discovered at Mendes in the Delta and in the Fayum. This fish probably served as an attachment on the lid of a coffin and may have depicted the species of fish mummified and placed inside. (Sarah Schellinger, 2018) ProvenanceBy purchase, the Stark family, Orange, Texas, between 1927 and 1929; by bequest, the Nelda C. and H. J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 1965; by purchase, the San Antonio Museum of Art with funding from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Willson, 1986Exhibition History"The Egyptian Mummy: Unwrapping the Mystery," Houston Museum of Natural Science, 23 March 1989-17 September 1989

"Mummies, Myths and Magic," Witte Museum, San Antonio, Sept. 22, 1989-Apr. 8, 1990.

"Egyptian Animal Mummies: Science Explores an Ancient Religion," San Antonio Museum of Art, March 23-July 1, 2018Published ReferencesC. C. Van Siclen, III, An Illustrated Checklist for Mummies, Myths and Magic (San Antonio: Van Siclen Books, 1990), p. 49, no. 6.
Not on view
Collections
San Antonio Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Ibis
Culture: Egyptian
ca. 712-30 B.C.
San Antonio Museum of Art, Gift of Professor William Kelly Simpson.
Relief with a Man Cleaning Fish
Culture: Egyptian
ca. 2494-2181 B.C.
San Antonio Museum of Art, Purchased with the Grace Fortner Rider Fund.
Griffin Attachment from a Cauldron
Culture: Greek
ca. 650-620 B.C.
Museum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection.
Head of a Cat
Culture: Egyptian
ca. 712-30 B.C.
San Antonio Museum of Art, museum purchase, Stark-Wilson Collection Photography by Peggy Tenis…
Eye inlays from a coffin
Culture: Egyptian
ca. 1069-664 B.C.
Museum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection
Cosmetic Implement
Culture: Egyptian
ca. 1550-1069 BC
San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr. Photography by Peggy Tenison.
Sestertius of Severus Alexander
Culture: Roman
A.D. 222-231
San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr. Photography by Peggy Tenison.
Follis of Diocletian
Culture: Roman
A.D. 303-305
San Antonio Museum of Art, Purchased with the Grace Fortner Rider Fund.
Statuette of Aphrodite
Culture: Roman
1st-3rd century A.D.
San Antonio Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. J.P. de Werthern.
Female with Headdress
Unknown
Culture: Veracruz
ca. A.D. 150-250
San Antonio Museum of Art, Gift of Nola and James Gail Sheldon.
Sande society mask
Unknown
Culture: Mende peoples
late 19th century
Museum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection.
Sekhmet
Culture: Egyptian
ca. 712-30 B.C.

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.

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