THIS beautiful metal sculpture, Dancing Ibis, was created in around 1985 by Polish-born sculptor Walenty Pytel and is now in the Worcester City collection.

Some museum visitors may remember seeing the sculpture on display in 2019 as part of Fifty Objects, Fifty Stories exhibition.

Pytel was born in 1941 and studied at Hereford Art College for five years where he gained a National Diploma of Design.

Following an accident which saw him hospitalised, he would while away the hours and amuse hospital staff by creating bird paper sculptures to decorate his bed – these influenced more permanent pieces of work later!

Pytel still works from his own studios in Herefordshire and is now renowned as Europe’s leading metal sculptor of birds and beasts. He says his creations are “drawn from nature and transform metal into works of living art”.

These birds were revered by the ancient Egyptians so much they are still named the African Sacred Ibis.

Ibis were considered the perfect offering for the god Thoth, the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom, reason, learning and writing – after being sacrificed, the bird was usually embalmed and the mummified remains placed in pottery jars to be kept in large underground galleries.

Thousands of these burials have been discovered at Sakkara near the ancient capital of Memphis in Egypt.

Ibis have also been important symbols in various historical periods such as ancient Roman religion and Japanese culture. Pytel shows two of them with their necks bent symmetrically and their heads raised in dance.

The African Sacred Ibis can be found near waterways and marshes across Africa but is less common in Egypt now than it was in past centuries.

The birds predominantly feed on insects or small aquatic animals such as frogs or fish but can take the eggs or young of other birds.

There have also been several rare sightings of stray Ibis in the UK in recent years, although it is unclear whether these have flown to us or escaped from UK-based collections.

You can enjoy more sculpture and artworks from the Worcester City Collection at artuk.org by searching ‘Worcester City’. Find family activities inspired by the Ancient Egyptians (and many more) on the Activities page of our website museumsworcestershire.org.uk/collections/