The Masks of Sacred Falcons with the Image of a King in the Egyptian Collection of the A. S. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

The article contains a publication and a tentative interpretation of a group of artifacts from the Egyptian collection of the A.S. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow (ГМИИ I.1a.5001, 4688, 4687, 4689, 4691, 4690–5005). Those are the masks placed on the mummies of sacred falcons and representing an Egyptian king. No analogies to them are known. The analysis shows that the masks’ images correspond to the standard of royal iconography used in the 3rd and the 4th centuries B.C. and that they can be attributed with enough certainty to Ptolemy II Philadelphus (282–246 B.C.). The masks belonged initially to the collection of Vladimir Golenischev, their provenance and the circumstances of their acquisition are unknown but one can suggest they originate from the necropolis of sacred falcons at North Saqqara. They could have been in use there in the reign of Ptolemy II, intended to stress the incorporation of divinity in him and his sacral legitimacy.

Keywords

Ancient Egypt, A.S. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Vladimir Golenischev, masks, falcons, mummies, kingship, iconography, Ptolemy II, royal cult

Received

19.08.2021

Publication date

29.03.2023

Number of characters

38259

Cite

GOST	Ladynin I. The Masks of Sacred Falcons with the Image of a King in the Egyptian Collection of the A. S. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts // Vestnik drevnei istorii – 2023. – V. 83. – Issue 1 C. 164-184 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/vdi/s032103910016305-8-1-en (circulation date: 26.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S032103910016305-8
MLA	Ladynin, Ivan "The Masks of Sacred Falcons with the Image of a King in the Egyptian Collection of the A. S. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts." Vestnik drevnei istorii 83.1 (2023):164-184. DOI: 10.31857/S032103910016305-8
APA	Ladynin I. (2023). The Masks of Sacred Falcons with the Image of a King in the Egyptian Collection of the A. S. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Vestnik drevnei istorii 83(1), pp.164-184 DOI: 10.31857/S032103910016305-8

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