Ibis Mummy
Description
Object Label: The ideal votive animal mummy, as shown in the X-ray here, contains one animal wrapped in the linen package. Yet without an X-ray or CT scan, it is impossible to know whether an additional animal, or no animal at all, was included in the wrappings. Egyptians of the first millennium b.c.e. believed that they could appeal to the god Thoth to intercede in human affairs. Ibis mummies allowed such a petitioner to send a message to the god. Catalogue description: Culture Egyptian Caption: Egyptian. Ibis Mummy, 400–110 B.C.E.. Animal remains (Glossy Ibis - Plegadis falcinellus or an African Sacred Ibis - Threskiornis aethiopicus), linen, pigment, 4 3/4 × 2 3/4 × 11 1/4 in. (12.1 × 7 × 28.6 cm) mount (display dims on support board): 4 1/2 × 8 1/2 × 15 in. (11.4 × 21.6 × 38.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X1179.4. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano
Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
Photograph of a wrapped ibis-shaped mummy bundle: a long, oval body with braided/corded wrapping across the surface and dark pigment or inlay visible in rectangular panels.
The object is an ibis-shaped mummy package shown in profile, with a tapered head at the right and a rounded body at the left. The exterior appears to be made of tightly packed linen-like strips or braided bindings arranged in a regular pattern. On the central portion of the body there are three recessed rectangular areas containing dark pigment/infill that contrasts with the lighter outer wrapping; the rest of the surface is uniformly light brown. No clearly legible hieroglyphs, cartouches, or script are visible on the exterior in this image. No figures of deities or human/royal iconography are discernible. The overall look matches an animal mummy package consistent with the catalogue’s “Ibis Mummy” description, though the exact species is not confirmable from the photograph alone.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession X1179.4 tier-2
- BKM-Object 184724 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.