Statuette of a Mummified Falcon (funerary furniture fitting)

This carved wooden and painted figurine, also known as the akhom falcon, represents the funerary god Sokar as a mummified falcon with a base. The god was primarily the protective god of the Memphite necropolis. Later, in the New Kingdom, it already owned a region in the underworld, where Ra transformed and reborn during his nocturnal journey. The posture of this small falcon could also indicate the transformation as if it is just being reborn from its red mummy bandages. Perhaps it also indicates the transfiguration necessary for the rebirth of Ra and for every blessed deceased in Osiris’s realm. This falcon wears a wide collar (menit collar) with a counterpoise on its back. The motifs on the back of its head show the beadwork necklace and the yellow colour refers to the jewellery being gilded. The statuette was attached in a hole in the middle of the damaged base. Wooden falcons such as this one were usually attached to the top of wooden coffins or canopic chests or the base of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris statues.