Falcon Mummy and Lidded Jar
Place made:Egypt
Culture: Egyptian
Period: Late period-Roman period
Date: ca. 712 B.C.-A.D. 395
Dimensions:
mummy: h. 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm); w. 3 in. (7.6 cm)
container: h. 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Beryl and Hank McCleary
Object number: 2003.50.1
Provenance: acquired by Beryl Nowlin McCleary and Henry G. McCleary (1922-2008) in Egypt, 1963-1967; Henry and Beryl McCleary, by gift to the San Antonio Museum of Art, 2003
Label Text
Falcons represented the sun god Horus who was the son of Osiris, the ruler of the realm of the dead, and Isis, a mother goddess who provided protection and nourishment to the deceased. As the son of Osiris and Isis, Horus became associated with the living king, who was viewed as the earthly manifestation of the god. Mummified falcons have been found in animal mummy cemeteries throughout Egypt.
This mummy’s squat appearance is explained by the position of the legs, visible in the X-ray. They have been folded up at the sides of the body and wings. This position has been noted in many other examples, although why birds were mummified in this way remains unknown. The skeleton appears to be complete. Over time, after the falcon was excavated, the wrappings became worn, revealing the claws of the right foot, beak, top of head, and feathers.
This mummy was accompanied by a clay jar for burial, a typical feature of falcon and ibis mummy burials. Once falcons were mummified, the embalmers placed them in jars and buried them in the catacombs as seen in the picture on the left. Based on the shape of the container, this falcon and jar probably came from the falcon catacombs at North Saqqara.
(Sarah Schellinger, 2018)
This mummy’s squat appearance is explained by the position of the legs, visible in the X-ray. They have been folded up at the sides of the body and wings. This position has been noted in many other examples, although why birds were mummified in this way remains unknown. The skeleton appears to be complete. Over time, after the falcon was excavated, the wrappings became worn, revealing the claws of the right foot, beak, top of head, and feathers.
This mummy was accompanied by a clay jar for burial, a typical feature of falcon and ibis mummy burials. Once falcons were mummified, the embalmers placed them in jars and buried them in the catacombs as seen in the picture on the left. Based on the shape of the container, this falcon and jar probably came from the falcon catacombs at North Saqqara.
(Sarah Schellinger, 2018)
Not on view
In Collection(s)
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.
