Vulture Headdress Inlay
Unknown Artist
100–1 BCE
Medium
gold and semi-precious stones
Dimensions
3 × 2.8 cm
Classification
Jewelry
Department
Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
Accession Number
1920.1991
About this artwork
The vulture headdress was worn by goddesses and queens. This inlay in the form of a vulture headdress has more than 100 stones: lapis lazuli (dark blue), turquoise (light blue), petrified wood (red), and an unidentified white stone painstakingly cut to shape and separated by thin plates of gold. Body, wing, and tail feathers are carefully distinguished in minute detail.