Horus on a falcon sarcophagus. Ancient Egypt, Late Antiquity, 26th Dynasty, 664-525 BC.
Bronze.
Attached invoice of purchase from the Galerie Günter Puhze in Freiburg, Germany.
Measurements: 6.5 x 3.5 x 2 cm (without base); 7.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm (with base).
Sculptural representation of the falcon god Horus in a standing position with his wings folded back and wearing the double crown of Egypt, a royal crown that symbolises the union of Lower and Upper Egypt and emphasises the role of Horus as the rightful ruler of the whole earth. The different elements of the crown are clearly visible: the red crown of Lower Egypt, which lacks its curled spiral at the front, and the white crown of Upper Egypt. It is richly decorated with the anatomical details of the animal, worked by means of incisions. Although it is not visible, it would have a hooked beak.
Horus was one of the most important ancient Egyptian deities who fulfilled many functions, especially as a god of royalty and the sky. He was worshipped from at least late prehistoric Egypt to the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history, and Egyptologists treat them as distinct gods. These various forms may be different manifestations of the same deity emphasising certain attributes or syncretic relationships, not necessarily in opposition but complementary to each other, in keeping with the way the ancient Egyptians viewed the multiple facets of reality. He was most often depicted as a falcon, most likely a lanner falcon or a peregrine falcon, or as a falcon-headed man.