A pendant depicting a ba-bird with outstretched wings

Late Period

664–332 B.C.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 127

Ba-bird amulets, like this rare beautifully inlaid example, were placed on the chest of a mummy, presumably as protective substitute for an individual’s own ba. The ba-bird was the part of a human activated after death: it was commissioned to visit the world of living as well as oversee critical events during the deceased’s passage from this world to the next. The earliest, a gold foil example, was included in Tutankhamun’s mummy (ca. 1327 B.C.), but those of Dynasty 26 and later (664-332 B.C.), parallel the one here.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: A pendant depicting a ba-bird with outstretched wings
Period: Late Period
Dynasty: Dynasty 26–30
Date: 664–332 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt
Medium: Gold, lapis lazuli, turquoise, carnelian
Dimensions: L. 5 × W. 2.9 × D. 0.7 cm (1 15/16 × 1 1/8 × 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: Anonymous Gift, in memory of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1913
Object Number: 13.184
Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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Miniature broad collar, Gold, carnelian, turquoise, lapis lazuli — Miniature broad collar
332–246 B.C.

Cult Image of the God Ptah, Lapis lazuli — Cult Image of the God Ptah
ca. 945–600 BCE

Head of a goddess, probably Mut, for attachment to a processional barque, Cupreous metal, gold leaf, formerly inlaid — Head of a goddess, probably Mut, for attachment to a processional barque
ca. 733–664 BCE

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ca. 945–712 BCE

Kushite official, subsequently modified, Leaded bronze, gold leaf — Kushite official, subsequently modified
ca. 712–664 B.C.

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