Statue of Horus as a Falcon

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 or Dolerite; 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

DescriptionThis is a large, hard-stone sculpture of the god Horus in the form of a falcon. The bird is depicted in a stylized, frontal pose, standing erect upon an integral rectangular base. The surface of the dark stone is smooth, with simplified, taut modeling of the body, wings, and tail feathers. The head features empty eye sockets, which were originally inlaid with colored stone or glass paste. The top of the head has a "rough, stippled area," described as a "short tenon," which indicates where a separate crown, now lost, was once attached.

Label TextThis monumental statue depicts Horus, one of ancient Egypt's most important gods, in his form as a divine falcon. Horus was the god of the sky and a symbol of divine kingship; every pharaoh was considered his living representative on earth. Originally, this statue would have been even more striking. Its eyes, now empty, were inlaid with colored stone or glass. The rough patch on its head once secured a magnificent crown, likely the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, symbolizing the pharaoh's rule over the entire land. Such large, formal statues were not worshipped in homes but were placed in temples, perhaps flanking a grand staircase, as a powerful guardian of the sacred space.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.