Mounted Egyptian Ba-bird amulet. Five clay faience (blue -green) stone. Hand carved with outstretches wings. Custom Bronze stand for presentation. Traces of the original pigment intact.
These Ba-bird amulets were placed on the chest of a mummy, presumably as protective substitute for an individual’s own ba. The ba-bird was the part of a human activated after death: it was commissioned to visit the world of living as well as oversee critical events during the deceased’s passage from this world to the next. The earliest, a gold foil example, was included in Tutankhamun’s mummy (ca. 1327 B.C.)
Provenance: Ashby Collection
Date: 725-332 BC
Dimensions: 4" high (on stand) 1 3/4" high x 2 1/2" wide