Pendant Falcon With Ram's Head
Nathan Bingham
Professor Darnell
Art History
12/7/17
Assignment 4 The piece of art is the Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s Head. This piece of art is currently at the Louvre in Paris, France. The Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s Head was found in the tomb that belonged to an Apis bull which was a holy being to Egyptians. It was found in the tomb Serapeum of Saqqara and it was found by a man named Auguste Mariette in the years 1851 to 1853 in France. The Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s Head was made from gold, gold leaf, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, and cornaline. The gold that was used in the Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s head was some of the purest gold ever put into jewelry during this time. It was made around the year 1254 B.C.E and has a height of 7.1 cm and a length of 13.7 cm.(David,2017) …show more content…
The history behind the Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s head is that it was made in 1254 B.C.E in the New Kingdom of Egypt.
It was made during Pharaoh Ramses II twenty sixth year being the pharaoh. The Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s head was made as a piece of jewelry but had other uses such as it was made to help with a ritual for the rebirth of the Apis bull. The Apis bull is part of an Egyptian cult and is “The Apis bull was originally viewed as the manifestation of Ptah. The Apis was soon linked to Osiris when Ptah and Osiris merged and so Plutarch described the Apis as the fair and beautiful image of the soul of Osiris. According to one myth the Apis was the living embodiment of Ptah while he lived and Osiris when he
died.”(Hill,2010) There is a lot of iconography behind the Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s head. The falcon body has its legs and wings stretched out so it looks like it is about to fly. The Ram’s head has horizontal horns that are twisted which the horns. This piece of art is showing off the sun god of Egypt which was originally Ra but over time Horus also became the sun god so both Ra and Horus are considered the sun god. The falcon body represents the sun going through the sky during the day. The ram’s head represents the sun at night which was believed to be in the underworld.(ancientegypt.co.uk) The Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s head is seen in the book of caverns. The book of caverns was found in royal tombs of the Ramses because it was only found in the tombs of Ramses. The book of caverns is a form of text that was used during funerals for royalty such as the pharaohs. “It describes the nocturnal transformations of the sun god in the underworld, as he progresses from "cavern" to "cavern" until morning.”(David,2017) After the sun god comes back from the underworld the sun comes out and begins a new day. The falcon with ram’s head as a whole represents the rebirth of whatever or whoever is dead in the tomb in which it is placed in this case it was the Apis bull and the Egyptians believed that the rebirth was guaranteed to happen.
Professor Darnell
Art History
12/7/17
Assignment 4 The piece of art is the Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s Head. This piece of art is currently at the Louvre in Paris, France. The Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s Head was found in the tomb that belonged to an Apis bull which was a holy being to Egyptians. It was found in the tomb Serapeum of Saqqara and it was found by a man named Auguste Mariette in the years 1851 to 1853 in France. The Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s Head was made from gold, gold leaf, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, and cornaline. The gold that was used in the Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s head was some of the purest gold ever put into jewelry during this time. It was made around the year 1254 B.C.E and has a height of 7.1 cm and a length of 13.7 cm.(David,2017) …show more content…
The history behind the Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s head is that it was made in 1254 B.C.E in the New Kingdom of Egypt.
It was made during Pharaoh Ramses II twenty sixth year being the pharaoh. The Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s head was made as a piece of jewelry but had other uses such as it was made to help with a ritual for the rebirth of the Apis bull. The Apis bull is part of an Egyptian cult and is “The Apis bull was originally viewed as the manifestation of Ptah. The Apis was soon linked to Osiris when Ptah and Osiris merged and so Plutarch described the Apis as the fair and beautiful image of the soul of Osiris. According to one myth the Apis was the living embodiment of Ptah while he lived and Osiris when he
died.”(Hill,2010) There is a lot of iconography behind the Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s head. The falcon body has its legs and wings stretched out so it looks like it is about to fly. The Ram’s head has horizontal horns that are twisted which the horns. This piece of art is showing off the sun god of Egypt which was originally Ra but over time Horus also became the sun god so both Ra and Horus are considered the sun god. The falcon body represents the sun going through the sky during the day. The ram’s head represents the sun at night which was believed to be in the underworld.(ancientegypt.co.uk) The Pendant, Falcon with Ram’s head is seen in the book of caverns. The book of caverns was found in royal tombs of the Ramses because it was only found in the tombs of Ramses. The book of caverns is a form of text that was used during funerals for royalty such as the pharaohs. “It describes the nocturnal transformations of the sun god in the underworld, as he progresses from "cavern" to "cavern" until morning.”(David,2017) After the sun god comes back from the underworld the sun comes out and begins a new day. The falcon with ram’s head as a whole represents the rebirth of whatever or whoever is dead in the tomb in which it is placed in this case it was the Apis bull and the Egyptians believed that the rebirth was guaranteed to happen.