Ba bird statuette

Ba bird statuette

Egyptian

Hellenistic Period (Ptolemaic Dynasty)

305–30 B.C.

Dimensions

Height x width x depth: 10.2 x 4 x 9.5 cm (4 x 1 9/16 x 3 3/4 in.)

Accession Number

72.4179

Medium or Technique

Polychrome wood

Not On View

Collections

The Ancient World

Classifications

Coffins and sarcophagi

Brightly painted, soft wood figurine of a ba-bird, originally attached to a piece of furniture, stele, shrine or coffin. Portrayed as a human-headed bird, the ba was a person’s mobile alter-ego, that lived on after death and was free to leave and re-enter the tomb.

Provenance

By 1836: Robert Hay Collection, Linplum, Scotland; 1863: to his son, Robert James Alexander Hay; 1868-1872: Way Collection, Boston (purchased by Samuel A. Way through London dealers Rollin and Feuardent, 27 Haymarket); 1872: given to the MFA by Samuel's son, C. Granville Way

http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/ba-bird-statuette-36496