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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1975.79
Title
Head of an Ibis
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, head
Date
mid 7th-late 1st century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Egypt (Ancient)
Period
Late Period to Ptolemaic
Culture
Egyptian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303853

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Leaded bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
6.1 x 6.5 x 1.9 cm (2 7/16 x 2 9/16 x 3/4 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 81.35; Sn, 4.95; Pb, 12.66; Zn, 0.006; Fe, 0.06; Ni, 0.02; Ag, 0.12; Sb, 0.05; As, 0.13; Bi, 0.655; Co, less than 0.005; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina is finely mottled brown, green, and gray. The head is in good structural condition. The surface preserves much of the original detail, except for a few areas on the beak that have been lost as a result of corrosion and cleaning activities.

This head preserves fine details modeled into the wax original, which can be seen from the presence of a small casting flaw that disturbs the already existing rim of the proper left eye. The eyes and beak seem to have been drawn with a pointy tool. Some of the features—including the ear indentations and the beak—have been reworked with a chisel or punch in the metal. A tapering tang, rectangular in section, protrudes from the neck and would have served to attach the head to a larger object. The rear surface of the head around the tang is slightly concave, probably to allow a close fit with the missing part. The tang is also made in bronze and was cast in one piece with the head. It was filed down to produce a smooth surface.


Francesca G. Bewer (submitted 2001)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Norbert Schimmel collection, gift; to the Fogg Museum, 1975.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Norbert Schimmel
Accession Year
1975
Object Number
1975.79
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
This small ibis head lacks the subtle modeling of 1943.1313. The ridges along the beak are pronounced and sharply defined as are the striated modeling on the sides of the head. The eyes were not designed to hold inlays. The tip of the beak is broken.

The Sacred Ibis bird derives its modern name from its ancient associations with the cult of Thoth, the moon god. Thoth regulated time and embodied wisdom, hence his connection with scribes, who identified him as the inventor of writing. As a manifestation of Thoth, the ibis participated in the growing prevalence of animal cults in the Late and Ptolemaic periods. The main cultic centers of Thoth were located at Saqqara, Abydos, Kom Ombo, and Tuna el-Gebel (ancient Hermopolis) where extensive catacombs of mummified ibises developed. The cultic site at Saqqara has revealed over 1.5 million mummies, and over 4 million come from the Tuna-el-Gebel catacombs (1). The birds used in these rites may have been raised by the temples specifically for this purpose. Most were buried in jars, some in ibis-shaped coffins. The two Harvard examples represent only the head, and both display tangs for attachment to the body cavities of ibis coffins. In addition to the mummified specimens, sculptural representations served as votives, examples of which have been excavated at Saqqara, Abydos, and Tuna el-Gebel (2).

Still present in Egypt in relatively large numbers until the 19th century, the Sacred Ibis’ distinctive posture and coloring lent itself to representation in a variety of media. With their long curving beaks and graceful legs, ibises appear in painted scenes of papyrus marshes or are represented sculpturally in a seated pose with legs bent underneath their bodies. A dominant characteristic—the two-tone coloring that contrasts dark beak, head, neck, legs, and wing tips with white body—was translated by the ancient artists into mixed media, most often bronze head, legs and tail affixed to a white-painted wooden body. More elaborate versions included gold, silver, and semi-precious stone inlays (3).

NOTES:

1. P. F. Houlihan, The Birds of Ancient Egypt, The Natural History of Egypt 1 (Warminster, 1986) 28-30; and A. D. Wade et al., “Foodstuff Placement in Ibis Mummies and the Role of Viscera in Embalming,” Journal of Archaeological Science 39.5 (2012): 1642-47, esp. 1642.

2. G. T. Martin, The Sacred Animal Necropolis at North Saqqara: The Southern Dependencies of the Main Temple Complex (London, 1981); M. Saleh, The Egyptian Museum Cairo: Official Catalogue (Mainz, 1987) no. 256; G. Roeder, Ägyptische Bronzefiguren, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Mitteilungen aus der Ägyptischen Sammlung 6 (Berlin, 1956) 404; D. Kessler and M. Abd el-Halim Nur el-Din, “Tuna al-Gebel: Millions of Ibises and other Animals,” Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt, ed. S. Ikram (Cairo, 2005) 120-63; and R. Bailleul-LeSuer, ed., Between Heaven and Earth: Birds in Ancient Egypt, exh. cat., Oriental Institute, University of Chicago (Chicago, 2012) 194-97.

3. For example, the silver and gold ibis-shaped coffin in the Brooklyn Museum (inv. no. 49.48); see R. A. Fazzini, R. S. Bianchi, J. F. Romano, and D. B. Spanel, Ancient Egyptian Art in the Brooklyn Museum (New York, 1989) no. 91; and Bailleul-LeSuer 2012 (supra 2) 189-91, no. 28.


Marian Feldman

Publication History

  • "Four New Objects for Ancient Art Collection", Fogg Art Museum Newsletter (Spring 1976), p. 5.

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu