Falcon

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Object Details

Description

Standing falcon. Black stone. Greek inscription.

Inscriptions

Greek inscription on base with name of Heracles and Aphrodite.

Label

Freer's purchases in Cairo in 1909 included "two great stone Hawks which would nobly defend my little group of Egyptian art when permanently housed." The "hawks" are these two falcons, reportedly from a temple near Alexandria in the Nile Delta.

An important image of kingship, the falcon was the symbol of the Egyptian god Horus, whose earthly embodiment was the pharoah. The heads of the sculptures preserve the remains of an attachment for a headdress, probably the double crown symbolizing rule over both northern and southern Egypt.

The Greek inscriptions on the front of the bases mention the names of the Greek deities Herakles and Aphrodite.

Provenance

To 1909

Maurice Nahman (1868-1948), Cairo, Egypt, to 1909 [1]

From 1909 to 1919

Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Maurice Nahman in 1909 [2]

From 1920

Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 156, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Collection

Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Exhibition History

Falcons: The Art of the Hunt (January 15 to July 17, 2022)

Charles Lang Freer and Egypt (June 13, 1998 to October 2, 2011)

Untitled Exhibition, South Corridor (March 6, 1981 to May 7, 1984)

Previous custodian or owner

Maurice Nahman (1868-1948) (C.L. Freer source)

Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Credit Line

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Date

305-30 BCE

Period

Ptolemaic Dynasty

Accession Number

F1909.141

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Sculpture

Medium

Stone

Dimensions

H x W x D: 54.7 x 25.4 x 49.1 cm (21 9/16 x 10 x 19 5/16 in)

Origin

Egypt

Related Online Resources

Google Arts & Culture

See more items in

National Museum of Asian Art

Data Source

National Museum of Asian Art

Topic

stone

falcon

Ptolemaic Dynasty (305 - 30 BCE)