Fragment of a Hawk-headed Mummiform Statuette (Sokaris?)

The stone statue of a man with a falcon-headed mummiform body most probably depicts the Egyptian god Sokaris, but, alternatively, some other syncretistic form of –Sokaris, such as Osiris, Ptah-Sokaris or Ptah-Sokaris-Osiris. During the Old Kingdom, Sokaris was primarily considered the patron of craftsmen, especially metalsmiths. The craftsmen working in the Memphithe necropolis and producing grave equipment may have considered the god of the necropolis to be their protector. From the Fifth Dynasty at the latest, the cult of Sokaris became closely related with the cult of Ptah, the main god of Memphis, and then, presumably at the end of the Old Kingdom, he advanced to the position of god of the dead, mainly through his identification with the god Osiris. The festival of Sokaris celebrated in the New Kingdom was basically of agricultural character, in which the fecundity aspect of Sokaris played an important role. Over time, the veneration of Sokaris spread through the entire country, and his cult was centred on his shrines in the Memphis region, as well as on the chapels of Sokaris within the mortuary temples of the New Kingdom pharaohs in Thebes.
The provenance of this small statue is uncertain; it may have come from one of his cult places.