Falcon-form case containing a corn mummy

Unknown

332–30 B.C. · Painted gessoed wood; mummy: linen, resin, fiber · Egyptian Art

This falcon-headed coffin does not contain an actual mummy but a symbolic Osiris mummy stuffed with grain and sand. The falcon head on the coffin and the hieroglyphic text on the painted lid indicate it is associated with the funerary deity Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. Such coffins and 'mummies' were prepared and buried in annual rites at certain centers as part of the mysteries of Osiris. Subsequent germination of the grain would symbolize the possibility of new life offered by Osiris. This particular example is of a type associated with the site of Tuna el-Gebel.

Artist

Unknown

Date

332–30 B.C.

Medium

Painted gessoed wood; mummy: linen, resin, fiber

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Gift of Alex Seippel, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2018