Description:

signed and dated: Th. Coester 190[3/9?]
black chalk
505 x 375 mm

Provenance:
Private Collection, Germany
 

Note:

In ancient Egyptian society the ibis was a symbol of great religious significance, serving as a manifestation of the god Thoth in visual culture. The bird was therefore associated with the god’s primary attributes of knowledge, mathematics and writing and was frequently portrayed in hieroglyphs, statuary and the pictorial arts. In the modern and early modern periods, the ibis has become a less reviled, if somewhat rarer creature, going into extinction in Egypt in the 19th century. The present drawing, which is made on an impressive scale, addresses the bird from three different angles and was likely made from life or a taxidermy mount.