Description
The first Egyptian King or Pharaoh of the IVth dynasty was Soris of whom little else is known. The most obvious explanation for the loss of all record of his life and times must lie with the grave robbers who plundered his tomb, removing from it all the sacred and precious artefacts which the Pharaoh chose for himself for his after-life, and leaving only the various chests and caskets which originally housed these valuable objects.
Among these plundered chests and caskets were the reliquary which housed the sacred objects from the Pharaoh’s personal standard, and the casket containing the icons representing the falcons which guarded the sacred objects in the reliquary for Soris.
The performer removes the lid from the casket to reveal that it is divided into three compartments, but that only two of these compartments have icons contained within them. The third icon is in the Pharaoh’s reliquary which the falcons guard in turn to this day even though the reliquary was plundered thousands of years ago and the sacred objects from the Pharaoh’s personal standard were stolen from it by the grave robbers.
The performer now picks up the reliquary, which features the dyed coloured wood motif of Soris’s head and shakes it. THE MISSING ICON CAN BE CLEARLY HEARD MOVING ABOUT INSIDE THE RELIQUARY. The performer confirms that the third icon is indeed inside the reliquary by tipping out the icon representing the blue falcon. This icon is then placed with the other two icons in the casket. Once again the reliquary is shaken. This time NO SOUND IT HEARD, and the performer explains that while we (the performer and his spectators) know that the reliquary has been plundered and that there is now no longer anything in it to guard, the falcons continue to this day to carry out their sacred duty of guarding it for their Pharaoh.
A spectator is invited to select which of the three falcons he or she would like to guard the reliquary now that the blue one has been removed from it and placed with the others in the casket. When the spectator has indicated his or her choice of colour, the performer replaces the lid on the casket. He then goes on to explain that as soon as the lid was replaced on the casket, the selected falcon immediately took flight from it to stand on guard ion the reliquary. To prove this, the performer picks up the reliquary and tips out THE COLOURED ICON WHICH THE SPECTATOR SELECTED. The performer then returns to the casket, lifts its lid and reveals that THE SELECTED ICON IS NOW MISSING FROM ITS COMPARTMENT.
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THE SPECTATOR HAS A COMPLETELY FREE CHOICE OF ANY ONE OF THE THREE COLOURED ICONS: THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO FORCE OF ANY DESCRIPTION INVOLVED IN THIS EFFECT.
THE CHOICE IS MADE BY THE SPECTATOR WHILE ALL THREE ICONS ARE IN THE CASKET: THE SELECTED ICON DOES NOT HAVE TO BE LOCATED IN ANY ONE SPECIFIC COMPARTMENT.
UNUSUAL MAGIC
FEATURING TOP QUALITY APPARATUS
SUPERBLY HANDCRAFTED IN WOOD
The casket, measuring 12.5 x 7 x 3 cms approx., is made in teak and features inlaid banding and an Egyptian motif design which has been set in relief on its lid. The teak reliquary (7 x 7.5 x 1.5 cms approx.) has the head of the Pharaoh set in relief on the top of it.
The special cabinet, which has four compartments in it and houses all the apparatus used in this effect, is veneered in mahogany, then waxed several times and hand-polished. The interior of the cabinet is lined with green velour to protect the apparatus. The size of the cabinet is 17.75 x 9.25 z 9.25 cms approx. (with brassed door hinges and catches).
Andy Martin –
Very Beautiful and Magical
To celebrate 25 years of Alan Warner Mini Magic, the Flight of the Falcon was created as a limited edition of just 25 units. I sneaked in under the wire and picked up the last unit. My thanks to George Guerra for informing me of this effect.
Well Alan really let his hair down on this masterpiece. The wood work is exquisite as always, but more intricate than usual with some wonderful inlaid work. Lots of color too, all in a beautiful presentation case.
The effect is simple: any one of the 3 chosen falcons dissappears from the casket and into the Reliquary. No force is involved and it can be repeated with a different outcome on another occaision.
Thank-you Alan for continuing to maintain such high standards.
George Guerra –
The Remarkable Alan Warner at his BEST!!
First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Andy Martin for this wonderful website . Through it, I rekindled my interest in magic and it opened my eyes to fantastic builders like Alan Warner and Richard Gerlitz. A few months ago a kind ebayer led me to discover that Alan was selling his beautiful mini-magic directly. I quickly ordered his catalogue and within its dazzling pages discovered this limited edition masterpiece. I promptly ordered #24. I knew one was left and immediately thought of Andy as a most deserving collector to own the one remaining piece. Andy’s magic has reached out beyond his immediate audience.
Now to this beautiful piece from Alan Warner. Words can’t describe my reaction on seeing this masterpiece from Alan when I opened the package after waiting 2 months. The woodwork and the entire effect as a whole is simply breathtaking.