ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Hippopotamus Head

AAT Object Form/Functionfigurines

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodMiddle Kingdom

Date1980-1760 BCE

MediumFaience

Credit LineAnonymous gift

Dimensions3 1/8 x 2 5/16 in. (7.9 x 5.8 cm)

Object number1998.016.001

Label TextIn the late Middle Kingdom small faience figures of animals became part of the burial equipment of nonroyal people. These figures frequently represent creatures who were thought to have some protective or magical significance. The hippopotamus was both revered as a symbol of the household goddess Taweret and feared as a dangerous wild animal. This figure, like most other examples, was probably broken to render it harmless when it was placed in the tomb. The lotus flower that decorates the head of the hippo symbolizes rebirth as well as the creature's swampy habitat.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2001 - Present
Published ReferencesBonhams Knightsbridge, Fine Antiquities (July 4, 1996), 103, lot 413.
Peter Lacovara and Betsy Teasley Trope, The Realm of Osiris (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2001), 28.

ProvenanceWith Bonhams London, July 4, 1996, lot 413. Ex private collection, United States.

Status

On view

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