Box for a Mummified Animal with Cobra Figure

CC0 Public Domain Designation

Late Period–Ptolemaic Period (664–30 BCE)

Egyptian

The body of this rearing cobra figure is supported by an ostrich feather, the symbol of the goddess Maat, who personified truth and justice. The box below (now empty) once contained a mummified animal. Ancient Egyptians presented objects like this in temples as votive gifts to gods and goddesses, tailoring the enclosed mummified animal to one that had a specific connection with the deity whose favor was sought. Such a gift in a sacred space could help ensure that the prayer would be received. The hieroglyphic inscription on the front of this box names the man who dedicated it and invokes Atum, a creator god whom the ancient Egyptians sometimes depicted in the form of a snake.

Status: On View, Gallery 137
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Ancient Egyptian
Title: Box for a Mummified Animal with Cobra Figure
Place: Egypt (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 664 BCE–30 BCE
Medium: Copper alloy
Dimensions: 8.4 × 4.1 × 8.7 cm (3 5/16 × 1 5/8 × 3 7/16 in.)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson
Reference Number: 1893.19
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/135132/manifest.json

Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of The Egyptian Collection (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1923), p. 108.

Émile Brugsch (1842-1930), Bulaq Museum and Egyptian Antiquities Service, Cairo; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1893; price reimbursed by Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson, 1893.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.