Index Magazine

Creature Feature: Animals from Ancient Egypt

January 21, 2021
Index Magazine

Creature Feature: Animals from Ancient Egypt

There are two images, side by side. The left image shows a bronze sculpture in the shape of a bird. It has a tall Egyptian crown on its head and a gold ring around its eye. The right image is a black and white drawing of the sculpture, in fine detail.
Horus falcon wearing crown of Upper and Lower Egypt with Uraeus, Egyptian, Late Period, Dynasty 26, mid-7th to late 6th century BCE. Leaded bronze, gold-alloy inlay around eye. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop, 1943.1118.

In this talk, Egyptologist Jen Thum offers an up-close look at animals in ancient Egyptian art and life. We invite you to download our free activity book Coloring Ancient Egypt, and color along! The activity book is now available in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.

Led by:
Jen Thum, Assistant Director of Academic Engagement and Assistant Research Curator, Division of Academic and Public Programs

Erica Lawton, Staff Assistant, Division of European and American Art

Share your work from Coloring Ancient Egypt on social media with #ColorOurCollections—on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! Or email us at am_dapp@harvard.edu with your creations, comments, or questions.

You can discover more animals from ancient Egypt in the online collection Animals from Ancient Egypt. What other animals can you find? Click on each artwork in the collection to learn more.

Creature Feature, an online series from the Harvard Art Museums, offers a chance for families to explore magical creatures across the collections through close looking and curious exploration with museum staff. Creature Feature talks are free, open to curious explorers ages 6 and up, and offered once a month on Zoom.

Works explored:
Amulet in the form of a crocodile, Egyptian, Late Period to Roman, c. 600 BCE–200 CE. Faience. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Beatrice Kelekian in memory of her husband, Charles Dikran Kelekian, 1984.674.

Tomb relief: Man holding a cow by a rope, Egyptian, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 6, 2323–2150 BCE. Limestone. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Grenville L. Winthrop, Class of 1886, 1934.17.

Horus falcon wearing crown of Upper and Lower Egypt with Uraeus, Egyptian, Late Period, Dynasty 26, mid-7th to late 6th century BCE. Leaded bronze, gold-alloy inlay around eye. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop, 1943.1118.

Coiled snake on a coffin, Egyptian, Late Period, Dynasty 26, mid-7th to late 6th century BCE. Leaded bronze. Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Misses Norton, 1920.44.287.

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