Object Details
- Description
- An Inlay: a hawk headed deity figure, (Ra). Broken and mended. Moulded, with a section of rod inlay. Dark blue, semi-translucent glass; opaque white and red, and translucent green.
- Label
- From the New Kingdom (ca. 1539-1075 B.C.E.) onward, Egyptian artisans used glass to fashion small objects such as jewelry, amulets, and miniatures. They also combined glass with other materials, often metal or wood. Colored glass inlays formed in molds adorned a variety of objects, including jewelry, furniture, and coffins.
- This inlay is made in the form of Qebehsenuef, one of the mythological four sons of the god Horus; he was typically depicted with the head of a falcon on a mummiform human body. This inlay was most likely used on a coffin; the four sons of Horus protected the internal organs of the deceased and their images were often depicted on the canopic jars in which mummified organs were stored. Qebehsenuef specifically watched over the lungs.
- Provenance
- To 1909
- Giovanni Dattari (circa 1858-1923), Cairo, Egypt, to 1909 [1]
- From 1909 to 1919
- Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Giovanni Dattari in 1909 [2]
- From 1920
- Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
- Notes:
- [1] See S.I. 189, Miscellaneous List, Egyptian Glass, pgs. 1 and 34, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. This piece is part of a collection of glass that was purchased en bloc and includes 1,388 specimens (for further purchase information, see the folder for F1909.332).
- [2] See note 1.
- [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
- Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Falcons: The Art of the Hunt (January 15 to July 17, 2022)
- Charles Lang Freer and Egypt (June 13, 1998 to October 2, 2011)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Giovanni Dattari (1858-1923) (C.L. Freer source)
- Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Charles Lang Freer
- 332-30 BCE
- Period
- Ptolemaic Dynasty
- Accession Number
- F1909.744
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Jewelry and Ornament
- Medium
- Glass
- Dimensions
- H (overall): 7 cm (2 3/4 in)
- Origin
- Egypt
- Related Online Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Topic
- molding
- mosaic glass
- glass
- falcon
- Ptolemaic Dynasty (305 - 30 BCE)
- Egypt
- Horus
- Ancient Egyptian Art
- Charles Lang Freer collection
- Record ID
- fsg_F1909.744
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3fc1fc0a7-eaf0-4afb-bdf5-897ad95d6055
