Ba Bird Amulet

Amulet of a falcon with human head representing the Ba. The outline was first cut from a piece of gold foil, onto, which small strips of gold were soldered giving the shape of the body and the separate feathers, which were once all inlaid with glass, frit or semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli and turquoise - now only about ten contain a blue coloured inlay. The embossed underside of the Ba-bird, made of gold foil, has been soldered to the underneath. The upper surface of the head is hemispherical, made of embossed metal and set in, now squashed. On the underside near the wing tips are two suspension loops made of thin strips of metal which have been cut and bent to shape. Once thought to be Late Dynasty 18 (about 1390-1295 BC) but more likley to be Late Period, especially when compared with Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna no. 5109; and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York no. 13.184. CONSERVATION NOTE (2024): pXRF analysis by Steve Newman: the dark grey and silvery metal around the hole on the underside appears to be lead.