Horus

Place of OriginEgypt, possibly from the Temple of Horus at Edfu

DatePtolemaic Period (332–30 BCE)

DimensionsH: 17 1/2 in. (44.5 cm); W: 16 5/8 in. (42.2 cm); Depth: 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm)

MediumBasalt, possibly Aswan granodiorite

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1972.53

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

Label TextHorus, a divine falcon and god of the sky, was one of the first gods to be depicted in Egyptian art. Sometimes rendered in bird form, as here, he was also depicted as a human male with the head of a falcon. Each pharoah had a special name identifying him as a manifestation of Horus. The royal aspect of the god is evident in this sculpture: the rough area on top of the head once supported a golden crown. The eyes of Horus, thought of as the sun and the moon, were originally inlaid with colored stone or glass.Published References"La chronique des arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 83, no. 1261, Feb. 1974, p. 98, repr.

"Treasures for Toledo," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 19, nos. 2-3, 1976, p. 45, repr.

Peck, William H., Sandra E. Knudsen and Paula Reich, Egypt in Toledo: The Ancient Egyptian Collection at the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, 2011, p. 91, repr. (col.) p. 17, 91.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Jones, H. Stuart (ed.), A Catalogue of Ancient Sculptures Preserved in the Municipal Collections of Rome, The Sculptures of the Museo Capitolino, Oxford, 1912, p. 358, no. 10, pl. 90, no. 10.