ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Ibis Figurine

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodLate Period

Date722-332 BCE

MediumBronze

Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Dimensions3 1/8 x 1 3/16 x 3 7/16 in., 155 g (8 x 3 x 8.8 cm, 5 7/16 oz.)

Object number2018.010.757

Label TextThe ibis was the sacred bird of the god Thoth, responsible for wisdom, writing, and knowledge. In ancient Egypt, ibises were seen as the manifestation of the god. The ibis sits with its tail feathers touching the ground. The tenon at the back of its legs was once inserted into a separately fashioned base. Bronze ibis statuettes were popular gifts to the god in the 1st millennium BCE. Ibis statuettes were deposited in catacombs along with ibis mummies and in temples or shrines to Thoth.
Exhibition HistoryLife and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 4 - August 6, 2023
Published ReferencesMelinda K. Hartwig, ed., Life and The Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2023), catalogue entry 57.

ProvenanceEx coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California, possibly purchased from Roger Fernand Galliano, Paris, France.

Status

Not on view

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