Falcon Sarcophagus Base

Possible OriginFaiyum, Egypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodLate Period, Dynasty 26

Date664-525 BCE

MediumWood, paint

Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Dimensions19 7/16 x 7 11/16 x 1 9/16 in., 775 g (49.4 x 19.5 x 4 cm, 1 lb. 11 5/16 oz.)

Object number2018.010.001B

Label TextCorn mummies were made from a mixture of earth and grain, wrapped in resin-coated linen bandages, and placed inside wooden falcon-headed coffins. Corn mummies embody the forces of rebirth under the control of the god Osiris. The process of assembling grain and earth in the form of Osiris symbolized the cosmic cycle of death and resurrection. It also aided the ritual transformation of the one to whom the corn mummy was given.

The falcon head has a short beak, bulging eyes, human ears, and wears a tripartite wig. Around the falcon’s neck is a five-row beaded collar. Below is a register of standing deities buttressed by human-headed vessels. A row of stars is at the top of the register. Below are two columns of text with the image of a “sprouting heart” painted at the beginning of the first column. On the side of the text are the four sons of Horus. Two jackals resting on their shrines decorate the feet. The coffin has a thin, rectangular plinth.
Exhibition HistoryLife and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 4 - August 6, 2023
Published ReferencesMaria Centrone, Egyptian Corn-Mummies: A Class of Religious Artefacts Catalogued and Systematically Analysed (Saarbrücken: VDM, 2009), 70-73, pl. XXXVII.
Melinda K. Hartwig, ed., Life and The Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2023), catalogue entry 93.

ProvenanceSaid to be ex coll. Viscountess Elizabeth Dow Dalton. Purchased by Georges Ricard (1921-2012) from Roger Fernand Galliano, Paris, France, July 24, 1974. Ex coll. Musée de l'Égypte et le Monde Antique, Collection Sanousrit, Monaco, 1975-1982. Ex coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California.

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