Gold Head of Horus

Old Kingdom, 6th Dynasty, ca. 2345-2181 BC.
From Kom al-Ahmar Necropolis.
Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 32158

This exquisite gold head of the falcon god Horus, lord of the sun and patron deity of kingship, was found below the floor of the main chamber of his temple at Hierakonpolis, north of Edfu.

The head, which is made out of beaten gold, was fixed to a copper statue of the falcon Horus. It is topped by a twin-plumed headdress and decorated with a royal uraeus, or rearing cobra. The eyes are inlaid with rounded, polished, obsidian pieces, very similar to that of the real bird.