Ibis Coffin Wood, silver, gold, rock crystal, animal remains, linen, and pigment Dimensions: 16 3/4 x 8 x 22 in. (42.5 x 20.3 x 55.9 cm) Ptolemaic Period, ca. 305-30 B.C.E. Possibly from Tuna el-Gebel 49.48, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund Photo © Joan Lansberry, May 2008

(From the Museum website): "Animal mummies were routinely placed in some type of container once the animal had been wrapped in linen. The more ordinary containers were specially designed or reused pottery jars. Such objects have been found by the tens of thousands in so-called animal cemeteries at a number of sites in Egypt. At times elaborate coffins were crafted to hold the animal mummies. Just as human coffins were anthropoid, 50 animal coffins took the form of the animal contained. The ibis mummy held by this coffin was placed within through the detachable lid on the back. The gilding of the body and the exquisite detailing of the head, legs, and feet make this example one of the finest of its kind."