AN EGYPTIAN BRONZE WIG

Solidly cast in thick bronze, this massive wig likely formed part of a large-scale composite statue of a deity, perhaps mostly made of wood but with elements in bronze and perhaps other materials. The thick channels representing tresses were likely inlaid with another material, now missing. The vertical rows of hair on the front give way to a chevron-like arrangement in the back, a feature often seen (though in less sharply delineated form) in private statuary of the Late Period. The area framing the face is recessed to provide room for the form of the deity’s head, which may have been not human: falcon (Horus), crocodile (Sobek), or other animal form.