Model of Four Trussed Birds

A model of four geese or ducks carved with bodies as one, with four heads bent backwards. An unusual object that has been variously described since it was excavated in 1904. The excavator, John Garstang, described it as being a wooden model of a jelly fish or a 'spinning lure' used in spin fishing to entice the fish to bite. In 1936 it was described by a museum staff member as a model of a cuttlefish. From Beni Hasan, cemetery below the Middle Kingdom rock-cut tombs: excavated by John Garstang of the Liverpool Institute of Archaeology, 1902-1904.