Horus Bird, also known as Horus-Ba, may have been a pharaoh who may have had a very short reign between the First and Second Dynasty of Egypt. Horus-Bird's burial site is unknown.
There are very few reliable name sources for Horus-Bird.
The first known attestation of this king may be a serekh with an undetailed bird found by Flinders Petrie in the tomb of Qa'a at Abydos.
Another more legible inscription showing a serekh with a bird was later found on a vessel fragment PD IV n.108 in Djoser's pyramid complex at Saqqara.
An inscription on a schist vase (P.D. IV n.97) from Djoser's pyramid complex could also refer to Horus-Bird.
Since the hieroglyphic sign is written in such an erratic way, the correct reading remains uncertain. Whilst Egyptologists such as Wolfgang Helck and Peter Kaplony see a depiction of a goose, they read the name as Sa (which would make it a “Son of Horus”) or as Geb(eb) (which would make it an "Heir of Horus"). Egyptologist Nabil Swelim instead sees a depiction of a saddle-billed stork and reads Ba (making it a “Soul of Horus”).
Horus in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history, and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists. These various forms may be different manifestations of the same multi-layered deity in which certain attributes or syncretic relationships are emphasized, not necessarily in opposition but complementary to one another, consistent with how the Ancient Egyptians viewed the multiple facets of reality. He was most often depicted as a falcon, most likely a lanner falcon or peregrine falcon, or as a man with a falcon head.
I met a handsome young man dressed as Horus-Ba at busy San Marco Square during the Carnevale. He truly looked like a Hollywood actor from a movie set, so I asked him for a few portraits. His costume and make up his top notch. I am just so fascinated with all real feathers over his wings. This is probably one of my best looking subjects this year. I really hope to photograph him again sometime, somewhere...
The Venice Carnevale is not solely about masks. Local Italians prefer historical costumes or painted faces. During Carnevale, the whole Venice becomes a real life theatrical stage, and many of these historical costumes carry deep perspectives...
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