LATE PERIOD TO PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 664-30 B.C.

The ibis was sacred to Thoth, the multifaceted god associated with wisdom, scribal functions, and learning. Gilt wood and bronze examples were often hollow and served as a coffin for mummified ibises or “dummy mummies” formed of straw and mud. With or without the mummy, the ibis would have been an offering to the god, whose cult became prevalent during the Late and Ptolemaic Periods. For similar examples, see the one in Brooklyn (inv. no. 49.48a-b, no. 91 in R. Fazzini, et al., Ancient Egyptian Art in the Brooklyn Museum) and in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv. no. 53.185a, p. 182 in C.R. Clark, “The Sacred Ibis,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 13, no. 5).