This item is part of the Dodgson Collection, which was bequeathed to Queen's College in 1892 by the Rev. James Dodgson. The collection was created by Aquila Dodgson, brother of James. Aquila Dodgson was a friend of the English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie, and it was through this friendship the Aquila was able to acquire ancient Egyptian artefacts. A detailed study of the collection was made by Christine Elias "Discovering Egypt: Egyptian Antiquities at the University of Melbourne", M.A. thesis 2010.Cartonnage coffin blackened on inside and out from resin/bitumen used to preserve bird and cover coffin. Remains of gold foil on exterior of coffin where bird's head would rest. Only head of bird extant with remainder of material now gone. It is also possible the coffin solely contained the head and was filled with plant remains, mud or linen.james dodgson, aquila dodgson, flinders petrie, bird, mummy, coffin