Sculpture
Horus as a Falcon
Egyptian
replica: from the Staatlichen Museen, Berlin
gift of: Peter and Doris Bietenholz
date of the original: Ptolemaic Period
provenance of the original: Egypt, now in the Egyptian Museum, Berlin
description: The god Horus represented as a falcon. Inscription on chest reads "IEPAΣ XPHΣTE XAIPE." Plaster replica; black stone original. Height 37 cm, width 14.5 cm, depth 27.5 cm.
Horus, the falcon deity whose name means “he who is above,” was often depicted with a sun-disk on his head. Known alternatively as the sky god and the sun god, Horus was one of Egypt’s earliest deities. He was identified with the pharaohs beginning in the dynastic period, about 3100 BC.
The Eye of Horus, or Wedjat Eye, represented healing, strength, perfection and wholeness, and was often worn as a protective amulet (see: Faience Amulets).
(See also: Horus/Sobek.)