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

The ibis was sacred to the god Thoth. This example was likely made as a dedicatory gift at one of the god’s temples. The body, constructed of wood, would have been covered with cartonnage and painted or gilded. For another example, see p. 182 in C.R. Clark, “The Sacred Ibis,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series 13, no. 5.