LOT 0460

Egyptian Polychrome Wooden Sokar Falcon

LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.

2 3/4 in. (16 grams, 71 mm).

Statuette depicting the couchant falcon god Sokar with wings folded along the sides of the body; chest, wings, and legs with painted details; inked legend on the underside reading 'Ex George Wathen / 1893 / 12'. [No Reserve]

Ex George Henry Wathen collection from 1843, who wrote and illustrated the important work 'The Arts, Antiquity and Chronology of Ancient Egypt'.
From the collection of David Donlan (1947–2025), a dedicated and lifelong collector with a passion for the ancient world and the natural sciences, forming his collection from 1960s onwards, using many reputable dealers across the United Kingdom, including the well-regarded Coincraft and The Parthenon Gallery.

Cf. Aston, D., “Canopic Chests from the Twenty–First to the Ptolemaic Period,” Ägypten und Levante 10, 2000, pp.159-178, for numerous examples of falcon-topped canopic boxes.

Wooden images of the raptor-form god Sokar typically decorated the tops of rectangular wooden coffins and canopic chests, which held jars containing the deceased’s mummified organs. Sokar was a protective god of the Memphite necropolis and was often merged with the funerary god Osiris and Ptah, the creator deity of Memphis.
George Henry Wathen, FGS (21 November 1816 – 10 November 1879) was a geologist, author, magazine publisher, and South African politician of the Victorian era known primarily for his books on the antiquities of Egypt and the gold fields of Victoria, Australia.