Head of an Ibis (Thoth)

The Sacred Ibis bird derives its modern name from its ancient associations with the cult of Thoth, the moon god. Thoth regulated time and embodied wisdom, hence his connection with scribes, who identified him as the inventor of writing. As a manifestation of Thoth, the ibis participated in the growing prevalence of animal cults in the Late and Ptolemaic periods. The main cultic centers of Thoth were located at Saqqara, Abydos, Kom Ombo, and Tuna el-Gebel (ancient Hermopolis) where extensive catacombs of mummified ibises developed. The cultic site at Saqqara has revealed over 1.5 million mummies, and over 4 million come from the Tuna-el-Gebel catacombs (1). The birds used in these rites may have been raised by the temples specifically for this purpose. Most were buried in jars, some in ibis-shaped coffins.

The two Harvard examples represent only the head, and both display tangs for attachment to the body cavities of ibis coffins. In addition to the mummified specimens, sculptural representations served as votives, examples of which have been excavated at Saqqara, Abydos, and Tuna el-Gebel (2).

Still present in Egypt in relatively large numbers until the 19th century, the Sacred Ibis’ distinctive posture and coloring lent itself to representation in a variety of media. With their long curving beaks and graceful legs, ibises appear in painted scenes of papyrus marshes or are represented sculpturally in a seated pose with legs bent underneath their bodies. A dominant characteristic—the two-tone coloring that contrasts dark beak, head, neck, legs, and wing tips with white body—was translated by the ancient artists into mixed media, most often bronze head, legs and tail affixed to a white-painted wooden body. More elaborate versions included gold, silver, and semi-precious stone inlays (3).

NOTES:

1. P. F. Houlihan, The Birds of Ancient Egypt, The Natural History of Egypt 1 (Warminster, 1986) 28-30; and A. D. Wade et al., “Foodstuff Placement in Ibis Mummies and the Role of Viscera in Embalming,” Journal of Archaeological Science 39.5 (2012): 1642-47, esp. 1642.

2. G. T. Martin, The Sacred Animal Necropolis at North Saqqara: The Southern Dependencies of the Main Temple Complex (London, 1981); M. Saleh, The Egyptian Museum Cairo: Official Catalogue (Mainz, 1987) no. 256; G. Roeder, Ägyptische Bronzefiguren, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Mitteilungen aus der Ägyptischen Sammlung 6 (Berlin, 1956) 404; D. Kessler and M. Abd el-Halim Nur el-Din, “Tuna al-Gebel: Millions of Ibises and other Animals,” Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt, ed. S. Ikram (Cairo, 2005) 120-63; and R. Bailleul-LeSuer, ed., Between Heaven and Earth: Birds in Ancient Egypt, exh. cat., Oriental Institute, University of Chicago (Chicago, 2012) 194-97.

3. For example, the silver and gold ibis-shaped coffin in the Brooklyn Museum (inv. no. 49.48); see R. A. Fazzini, R. S. Bianchi, J. F. Romano, and D. B. Spanel, Ancient Egyptian Art in the Brooklyn Museum (New York, 1989) no. 91; and Bailleul-LeSuer 2012 (supra 2) 189-91, no. 28.

Marian Feldman