Statuette of Horus, lord of Sekhem (Letopolis)

Metal statuary used in Egyptian temples was made from silver and gold, as well as from unalloyed copper and copper-arsenic alloys, but most surviving examples, including this falcon-headed figure of Horus, lord of Sekhem, were made from bronze, an alloy of copper and tin. Its surface would have been golden brown and highly reflective. Like this figure, Egyptian sacred statuary was often embellished with inlays of metal, stone, glass, etc. or precious-metal cladding. In addition to any possible symbolic resonance, these materials added a coloristic dimension to the figures, which could be further enhanced: in some cases, a statue itself or the copper-based alloys used as inlays were patinated to add additional contrasting hues to the metal palette.


Artificial patination is actually controlled tarnishing produced using chemical reagents, sometimes supplemented with heat treatment. First in the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian metalsmiths produced black bronzes by chemically treating copper alloys that contained a small intentional addition of gold. Somewhat later, a similar technique for patinating bronze alloys containing arsenic was developed. The very few documented examples date to the first millennium B.C., and the team in the British Museum that discovered them have hypothesized that the color of these intentional tarnishes would have ranged from dark brown to black.


This use of this alloy was recently confirmed on this statuette using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Arsenic was detected was found in the inlays in the eye sockets but none in the metal used to cast the statuette itself. The inlays were partly covered with gold sheet shaped to define the pupils in the artificially darkened metal below.


Visible examination suggests that the broad collar was originally gilded, but it was not possible to confirm this instrumentally without removing a sample because of the respective geometries of the figure and the analytical instrumentation.


Deborah Schorsch 2018

Department of Objects Conservation

Found to be unnumbered, source unknown. Accessioned apparently in 1949.