What was the falcon collar used for

Timelines Egypt, B. Visiting The Met? Browse the Collection. Broad Collar with Falcon-Head Terminals ca. New Kingdom. Public Domain. Open Access. Top: Sphinx with Falcon-Headed Vessel.

Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor. Reportedly From: Saqqara, Egypt. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum.

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Remains of a black inlay material of mineralized silver sulfide fill most of the grooves. Francesca G. Bewer submitted Simplified feathers are indicated through incised grooves that show traces of dark metal inlay. A broad collar made up of three bands of geometric ornamentation graces the neck.

The body of the bird is almost entirely covered with feather-shaped patterns. More geometrical patterns decorate the chest and underside of the tail. The figurine stands on a trapezoidal base with a round peg in its center bottom for attachment.

A break at the tip of the tail feathers and a semi-ovoid hole underneath reveal the hollow-casting procedure as well as a now-empty receptacle. Part of the proper right side of the head, including the eye, is broken, which suggests the former presence of a headdress, such as a sun disc. A deep dent mars the back of the neck. The soaring flight and predatory character of the falcon linked the mighty raptor to the god of the living king, Horus, early in the pharaonic tradition.

The living king of Egypt was identified as an earthly Horus, and from the late Predynastic Period c. The common appearance of the Double Crown and uraeus on bronze figurines of falcons reinforces this royal connection. What were these used for? These are inlays, they would have been set into surfaces like on a wall or on a coffin as decoration.

The falcon head, though, is actually from a piece of jewelry! You can tell because it is rimmed in gold unlike the others. It's a terminal for a broad collar there is a big blue broad collar on view at the other end of the gallery. Attached at the bottom, would have been the beads, and above its head would have been the clasp or closure for the necklace. Scarab with Falcon Head. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor.