Desert Art

8/10/2019 Desert Art

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Dorothea rnold

THE METROPOLITANMUSEUMOF ART

n

Egyptianestiary



:

4w-6



In the most amousiterary ork

of ancientEgypt,Sinuhe,

nobleman,earinghewrath

f

anewpharaoh,leesEgypt

nd

crosseshe eastern esertntoAsia.

Yearsater, s an old man,he

returns

anddescribesis perilousourneys:

"An

ttack f thirstovertookme,"

he writes boutadventuresuring is

desert rossing. Iwasparched,

my

throat urned. said, This s the

taste

of

death."' o theancientEgyptians

thevastarid ands lankingheir er-

tile

valley ould ndeed arryhethreat

of

death. f theyventured eyond he

valleymargins,heymight uffer s

didSinuhe, allvictim o

predators,

orencounter trange ndforeign

people. t musthave eemed

itting

that hedesertwasa "land f

death,"

wherehe Egyptiansuried heir

dead.

However,he desertwasalso

he

bountiful ealm hatprovided

tone

forEgypt'smagnificentuildingsnd

statuary,oldandsemiprecious

ems

for

ewelry,metals ndmineralsor

luxury

oodsandweapons, ndclay

for OtS. Most mportantly,n ancient

times heEgyptian

esertwas eeming

withwildlife.

During heprehistoriceriod nd

the Old Kingdom,heareas order-

ing theNile valley

n the eastand

westwere teppe atherhanbarren

wasteland,upportingatches f grass,

shrubs, ndeven

occasionalrees.

Minorwatercourses

ndsporadicains

nourishedheplants, nd hevegeta-

tion n turn ustained richvariety f

animals. orhumansiving n the

Nile valley,wild

steppe ame onsti-

tutedan importantource f food n

these arly imesandserved s offer-

ings o thegods

hrough llperiods f

Egyptian istory.Hunting teppe ni-

mals n thewideopen ands ave

kingsandnobles

mple pportunities

to prove heir alor

nd eel hem-

selves o be mastersf the universe.

In Egyptian eligionhe existence f

abundantnimalife

n the "land f

death" ecame potent ymbol f life

after eath. nnumerableepresenta-

tionsof desert nd

steppe nimalsn

tombs ndroyal unerary onument

aswell

asthe useof suchanimals s

amuletic bjects, reevidence f this.

During hewholepharaonic

eriod

wildherdanimalsuchasantelope

and bexandpredatorsuchas

ions

and eopardsoamedhesteppewhile

it

turned raduallyntodesert.Many

other

reatures-frominy erboas,

whose onghind egsenabled

hem

to

perform crobaticeaps, ohedge-

hogsandwildcats-made heir

home

in the hillysteppe egion. herewere

stillelephantsndgiraffesn this

area

in

fourthmillennium gypt,butthey

graduallyiminishedscultivation,

raisingivestock, ndclearing

ood-

land,alongwith climatic hanges,

caused teppe egetationo recede.

Today, lthoughhe Egyptian

esert

still

upportsome egetationndwild

life,manhasbroughtmany

Egyptian

desertpecieso thebrink f

extinction

and he desert ndsteppe nviron-

ments

hat he ancientEgyptians

knew anbe foundonly n

present-

day

Sudan r fartherouth.

7

h e

Egyptian

Desert



I. Comb

Predynastic,

a. 200 B.C.

Ivory;. 2X4

in.

(S.7

m).Theodore

M.Davis

Collection,

BequestfTheodore

M.

Davis,9Ii

(30.8.224)

The

animals

minutely

arvedn

relief

on thissmall omb its eethnow

missing) ave

been dentified

ith

more

or ess

certainty.

noneside

(from

hetop)are

a row

of elephants

standing

n giant

cobras,

henone

of a stork,

which

hasa snake

under ts

beak indicating

itherts food

or the

wetland

nvironment

t

inhabits),

leading

giraffe,

hree

more torks,

and

a heron

rcrane.

henext hree

rows nclude

dog

attacking

he

hindmost f threearge elines, line

of antelope

possibly

ne

gazelle

nd

three ryx),

nd

a lineof what

might

be dogs

or pigs,

endingn a

star r

flower.

On thecomb's

ther

ide

he

top

two rows

arerepeated,

ut below

them

arecanids

jackals?)

n a row,

followed y

cattleor

wildbulls,

and

again

lineof dogs

or pigs.

The ani-

malsalternate

irections

romrow

o

r

row.Thls

createsn

lmpresslon

r

continuityndperpetuity,hile he

fact

hat he entire

pace

s filled

with

animals

peaks

f anoverwhelming

abundance

f animal

ife.

The elephants

re

more chemati-

callypresented

han

heother

animals,

and heir

position

top he

serpents

seems

o be

symbolic.

he

mythology

of many

African

eoples

ssociates

le-

phants

ndserpents

ith

thecreation

8

2. The

Hunt in

the Steppe

Saqqara,

ynasty

probably

a. 23S0

.C.

Limestone;

. 23X4

n. (60.3

cm).

Rogers

Fund, 908

(08.20I.Ig)

The bow

andarrow

was he

most m-

.

*

*

.

portant

untlng

weaponn anclent

Egypt,butduringheOldandearly

Middle

Kingdoms

razing

nimals

were

oftenhunted

with assos

fter

the

herd

hadbeen

drivennto

a stock

ade. t was

mportant

o catch

he

animalslive

o that hey

could

befat-

tened

n

captivity

eforehey

were

slaughtered.

ne

detail top)

hows

n

ibex,

Caprabex

ubiana,eing

roped

in

thehilly andscape

f thesteppe.

Thepen

s notrepresented

n

this

relief, s t is in manyotherhunting

scenes.

Dogs

accompany

he hunts-

men; n

theotherdetail

bottom)

onehoundcatches

Dorcas

azelle,

Gazella

orcas,y the

leg,while

another

ttacks hyena.

A hare

anda

gazelle

rouch

ehindrees

ndbushe

to

escapehe

hunters.

Hieroglyphic

inscriptions

ive he animals'

ames

and

describe

he assohunt.

Inaddition

o the

well-known

completeombof Perneb,heMuseum

owns

hefunerary

hapel

fPrince

Ra-m-kaj.

he

details ere

are aken

from

a relief

n itssouth

wall.The

prince ndheir

o the

throne

must

have

diedprematurely,

ecause

tomboriginally

arvedora judge

named

Neferiretnes

as

adaptedor

. i

.

1S lnterment.

of

theuniverse.

he uppermost

ow

ofeach

elief

may husrepresent

cre-

ativedeity o whom herestof the

animals

we

heir xistence.

o

human

being

s depicted

n the

comb,

butthe

presence

f the

attacking

og

shown

asdomesticated

y

itsupward-curling

tail

hintsat

the existence

f

man,

thehunter.

Comparison

ithphara-

onicrepresentations,

uch

as the

drawing

n

number

2, may

even ug-

gest

hat his

dogbelongs

oa

ruling

chieftain

r king.

While vorynpharaonicimes

wasvery

often

ofhippo ooth,

his

comb

s made

of elephant

vory,

n

indication

hat

elephants

may till

have

beenroaming

he desert-steppes

atthe end

of the fourth

millennium

B.C. By

thebeginning

f dynastic

is-

tory,

lephants

nd

giraffes ere

gone

from

Egypt,

nd oday

ions

no

longerive

here.



6



01

V \



3. Gazelle

Dynasty

8,

ca. 400 B.C. Tinted

vory,

wood, nd

blue-pigmentnlay; .

4/2

in.

(II.5 cm).Purchase,

dward. Harkness

Gift,926 (26.7.I292)

A lovepoemof theNew Kingdom

likens he

passion f the lover o the

intensityf a gazelle s

t flees he

hunter:

O thatyoucame o your

ister lover]

swiftly,

Likea

bounding azellen thewild;

Its eetreel, ts imbsare

weary,

Terror asenteredts body.

A hunter ursuest with

hishounds.

Thiselegantvory azelle eems

poised or

ustsucha flight, ts slen-

der egs et

daintily n theuneven

ground f the steppe. t

stands mong

desert lantshatare ncised

ntothe

woodenbaseand illed

withbluepig-

ment.Theplump ittle

body s

smooth nd

ustrous,heheadheld

alertly n a swanlike eck,

and he

circularyes inteda velvety

rown.

Purple oloring

n theforeheadnd

muzzle, swellas asymmetrically

applied urple-brown

ineson the

backand

ail,may ndicate iffer-

ences n theshading f

thefur.The

hooves redark rown.The animal's

ears rebroken ff,and hehorns,

originally adeof another

material,

. .

aremlsslng.

The gazelletatuette

asmost

probablyartof a rich

burial quip-

ment. nthiscontext he

animal

served sa symbol or hepowers f

renewalhatEgyptians

ttributedo

alldesert ndsteppe nimals. he

Museumlsopossesses

he mummy

of a realgazellehatwas

buriedwith

the coffinof a Thebanadyof

Dynasgr6 (664-525 .C.).

4. Weight f ThreeDeben

n the

Shape f a Gazelle

Dynasty8, reignof Amenhotep

II,

ca. 390-I353

B.C. Bronze; . 2X8 in.

(5.4cm). Purchase, ilaAcheson

Wallace

Gift, 968 (68.I39.I)

The artistwho shaped his

bronze

gazellewasa master f

carefullyb-

served etails.

he neck tretches

from ts humped ase n

a natural,

anatomicallyorrectmanner.

he

muscles f

thehindquartersre ensed

reflectingheweight esting n the eg

joints.Heavy,

roopingidshalfcover

theeyes, nd heanimal's

ostrils re

flared s fscentinghe

air.The artist

hascaptured

he qualitiesf thehard

knobby orns

nd he soft urry ars.

Threencisions n the

backof the

animalndicatehat he figurewas

supposed

o weigh hree

deben273

grams), hich s slightly

more han ts

actualweightof

26I.8

grams,

differ-

encecaused y corrosion. ronze

weights nanimal ormwerecom-

monduringhe New Kingdom.

hey

weremainly sed o weighgold hat

served s

payment nd ribute rwas

usedbyjewelersr other

raftsmenn

theirwork.



1,,¢s,'7

o',

i- e t,vt tt

.'w'' t

J ;

S s

* -; 1

4- +t ) S

v

:

o:

ts;y:

|ol;

>

:*l

>

w:W

s ¢ r s



S

Antelope

Head

Dynasty

7, 525-404

B.C.

Graywacke,

nlaid

Egyptian

labaster

ndagate

yes;h. 3/2 in.

(9 cm).

Purchase,

ogers nd

Fletcher

Funds

and

JosephPulitzer

equest,992

(I992. 55)

The

sculptor

as

shapedhis

headof

an

antelope o

skillfullyhata

distinct

impressionf its

delicate,

hin

bone

structures

conveyed. he

skin s

stretched

ver

ense inews

nd

ean

flesh.The

soft,

sensitive

muzzleeems

well

adapted

o

sample esert

erbs

andgrass.

he

eyes,almond

haped

with

uminous

labaster

nlays or

the

eyeballs,

reespecially

triking.

The

remaininggate

nlayof

the right

pupil bluishpurplewithagray

outer

ircle

lendsa

hypnotic

uality

to the

antelope'saze.

Originally

horns f

ivory r

gilded

woodwere

attachedothe

headby

tenons.

Only

recentlyave

gazelles,

nte-

lope,and

bexbecome

carce

o the

polnt

or

extlnctlonn

egypt.even

at

thetime

hishead

was

made,how-

ever, t

wasprobably

areor

heordi-

nary

nonhunting

gyptian f

the

alluvialand o encounterneof these

elegant

reatures.

he

sculptor er-

tainly

eflectednhis

workan

expres-

sionof

aweatthe

quasi-miraculous

appearancefthe

animal.

The

head a

masterpiece

fLate

Period

nimal

culpture-was

most

likelynot

partof

an entire

igure ut

rather

rowned

heprow

of a

ceremo-

nialboat

dedicatedo thegod

Sokar,

whowas

ncharge

f the

desert nd

thepyramidemeteriesearEgypt's

capital,

Memphis.

ibex

requentlyerved

sthe

hiero-

glyphicmblem

orthe

word

"year."

These wo

representationsf

re-

cumbent

bexare

markedly

ifferent

from

achother

nposture

ndex-

pression. he

faience

nimal n its

little

basemight

be

crouching

ehind

a

bush

during hunt.

Eyeswide

open

andhead

onlyslightly

aised

rom he

forelegs,

he

animal eemso

belis-

teningand

sniffingor he

dreaded

hunter nd

his dogs.

n

contrast,he

quartzbex

ifts tS

head

proudly n

an

upright

eck. n a

posture

ecallin

the

bronze

azelle

no.4),

both

forelegsre

bent

backward

nd he

body

rests

racefully

n the

eft

haunch.

Despite

he small

izeof

thefigure,heartist asconveyedhe

unevenweight

distributionith

remarkable

ccuracy.he

animal's

ody

iscurved,

nd he

efthind eg

hasdis-

appeared

nder

he

haunch. hispose

was

used or he

arge am

culptures

thatKing

AmenhotepII

dedicatedo

thegod

Amun-Re t his

temple f

Soleb,

Upper

Nubia.The

strongn-

fluence

uch arge

culptures

xerted

on

the minor

rts s

reflectedn

the

small igures f this bexand he

bronze

azelle.

The

twoibex

figures

erved s

adornment. he

faience ne s

pierced

horizontallyo

fit into a

ring.

The

quartz

bexmay

have

decoratedn

elaborate

erfumeessel,

nwhich

case

twould

have

beenattached

y

pegsortubes

protrudingrom

he un-

derside

ndby

pieces fwire

ecuring

it front

andback.

6.

Ibex

Dynasty

8, ca.

55O-I300

B.C. Faience

(figuresf

a

crocodilenda

fish

ngraved

on

underside);

. 2 in.

I.2 cm).

Purchase,

Edward.

Harkness

ift,

926

(26.7.So)

7. Ibex

Late

Dynasty

8, probablyeign f

AmenhotepII,

ca.

390-I353

B.C. Mottled

semitranslucent

ryptocrystallineuartz

closelyesemblingasperhorn amaged;

twoholes

rilled n

underside,

neeach,

front

ndback);

. in.

2.5 cm).

Purchase,

Vaughn

oundationift,

980

(I980.2)

The

ancient

Egyptians

onsidered

he

ibex o bea

good-luck

harm

nd

symbol

frenewal.

bex igures

ften

decorated

ew

Year'sifts,

and n

"Happy ew

Year"

nscriptionsn

13





8. Statuette f the God

Anubis s

Embalmer

Ptolemaic

eriod,04-30

.C.

Woodwith

gesso

ndpaint; . 6/2 in. (42

cm).Giftof

Mrs.

Myron .Taylor,938 38.5)

This

wooden igure epresents

he

godAnubiswith

a canidheadon a

humanbody,wearinghe

feather

costume

f Egyptianeities.

n this

pose hands aised, alms

down-

ward the god

performedurifi-

cationand ransfiguration

itesover

a mummy.During

he actualmum-

* , .

* o

mltlcatlon rocess,

prlestwearlng

canidmaskplayed

he roleof Anubis.

era.The specieswasrare

venduring

pharaonicimes

and ivednot in

the

steppe

roper ut n thebrush

t the

border

f theagriculturalands.

t is

likely hat ew

Egyptiansctually

aw

thisshyanimal,

lthoughrom he

Old

throughheNew

Kingdomep-

resentations

f the magnificent

tags

appearn images

f thehunt n

the

desert.

The artist

whohammeredhis

cen-

terprotome

rom heetgold or

he

crown f a

Hyksosadyof highrank

created

ucha detailed

mage hathe

musteither

ave een he actual

rea-

tureor based

isworkuponanother

artist's

loseobservation.

he head

shows

llthe essential

haracteristics

of thespecies:he majesticimen-

sions, riangular

urrowedrow, uffy

cheeks, ectangular

ose,and arge

funnel-shaped

ars.Evenminordetails

arewellrepresented,

rom he knobby

cirdes roundhebase

f theantlers

indicatedy twisted

oldwireand

repeatedround

heears to the

pores

inthe flesh

of the nose.Thesenatural-

istic

eatures,swellas

the echniquef

manufacturing

hree-dimensional

b-

jectsby oining wohammeredalves,

is

so essentiallygyptianhat he

piece

mustundoubtedly

e attributed

. * k

to an qgyptlan

rtlst.

The diadems alsoadorned

ith

heads f gazelles

nd otusblossoms.

Beginning

n the OldKingdom,

headbands

ithpapyrusnd otus

ornaments

ere requently

orn

by

Egyptian omen.The combina-

tionof marsh

lowersndhorned

desert-animal

eadshasa foreign

character,

owever,hat

maybestbe

attributedo

the taste f a Hyksos

client

with trongies

o theCanaanite

MiddleBronze geculture.

to. Head

of a Canid,Possibly

Jackal

LatePeriod,

64-332B.C. Gypsum

laster;

1.2M2n.

(6.4 cm). RogersFund,

974

(I974264)

The classification

f wildcanids

for nstance

heEgyptianackal,

vnis

lupaster, and he

wilddog livingat

the margins

f theEgyptian

esert

causes

roblemsven orzoologists.

t

is not surprising,

herefore,hat he

ancientEgyptiansid not

distinguish

particular

anid peciesn their

epre

sentationsf gods,

uchasthe necrop

olisgodAnubis see

no. 8);Duamute

oneof the four onsof Horus; r

Wepwawet,

he godof Asyut,

town

in Middle

Egypt.Thissensitively

modeled laster

eadcouldhave

servedodepict

anyof thesedeities.

The use

of plasternd he

rough,un-

modeled rea round

heears ndicat

that heheadwas

cast n a mold.

Recent esearch

asshown hat

Egyptian

rtists seda variety

f finely

graded

lastermaterialsor

trial

piecesand inished

works f art.This

smallhead s in a

classwithOldKing

dom"reserve"eads nd he

famous

New Kingdom laster

ortraitsrom

an artist's

tudioatAmarna.

n the

latterworkshop,

moldcastingwas

alsopracticed.

9. Stag

Protomeroma

Diadem

Hyksos eriod, ynasty

5-I6,

ca.

640-

IS5O B.C.

Gold; . of protome7/6

in.

(8.8 cm).

Purchase,ilaAcheson

Wallace

Gift,

968

(68.I36.I)

ThePersianallow

deer,Damv

mesopotamica,ame o Egypt

byway

of the Suez sthmus

n the Pleistocene

15



power.A lioness

eity, orexample,

wasaddressed

n a MiddleKingdom

textas "theGreat,

whose yesare

keenandwhose laws re

harp, he

lioness

who seesandcatches

y

night."

hehunting f lionswas

a

royal rerogative,

sshownn this

masterlynddetailed ketch y an

Egyptianraftsman, ho

added

praise

o pharaohn flowery

cript n

the

backof thepiece.Flakes

f the

dense

Thebanimestone ere he

tra-

ditional

notepaper"f

scribes nd

artists

n theNew Kingdom. he

hands reoften

hoseof master

draftsmensee

alsonos.3Sand63).

Scholarsave tressedhat

his ion

doesnot stand

on the same evelas

pharaohndhiswell-trainedog.As

the ionembodieshe forces

f chaos,

itbelongs o

a worldbeyondhe

orderedealm

f the Egyptian ing.

Lionswere

partof theEgyptian

faunauntilabout

wo centuriesgo,

and

n thepharaoniceriods

hey

must

havebeen airly ommon.

They

were

ertainly ellknown

o herds-

menandhunters

sthemostdanger-

ous

animal f the steppe.

Recentlyhe

II.

AnubisRecumbent

Saqqara,

ynasty6-27,664-404B.C.

Limestone,riginally

ainted lack neck,

nose, eftear, ight

eg,andpart f base

restored);

.25X4n. (64cm).Adelaide ilton

de Groot und,n

memoryf thede Groot

andHawleyamilies,

969 6g.Io5)

Egyptian

rtistsftendepicted

nubis

entirely

n animalormand

n a pose

indicating atchfuluardianship.o

thisday,n cemeteries

n theEgyptian

desert,wilddogsguarding

heir erri-

tories

tretch ut n thesame lert ose

as thispowerfill

imestoneculpture.

The near-lifesize

igurewas

excavated

by British

rchaeologist alter

B.

Emeryn a temple

deposit t Saqqara,

thevastnecropolis

ear ncient gypt's

capital,Memphis.

emple bjectswere

gatheredndhiddenduringhevari-

ousforeign aids

n Memphis.t is not

knownromwhich emple

heAnubis

statue ame.A

LatePeriodanctuary

of Anubis, alled

heAnubieion,

wassurrounded

y one of the numer-

ous cemeteriest

Saqqarahatwere

specificallyedicated

o theburial f

sacred nimals.

t2. Pharaoh pears

Lion

Thebes,

alleyf theKings,ate

Dynasty

0-

Third ntermediate

eriod,a.

I00-

700 B.C.

Painted

imestone;. (ofstone)

5/2 in. I4

cm).Purchase,dward

.

Harkness

ift,

926 (26.7.I453)

The ancientEgyptians

ived n awe

of

thegreat elines, nd ions

especially

were

egardeds the embodiment

f

.-:

. . . , , ;

. i

16



skeletalemainsf adult swellas

youngionswere iscoveredear he

tomb f theFirstDynastyingHor

Aha ca.

960-2926 B.C.)

atAbydos,

Middle gypt clear videncehat

from hebeginninggyptiansept

captiveions t heroyalourt. he e-

mains f a NewKingdomoowere

found n theDeltapalace f King

RamessesI (ca.

279-I2I3 B.C.)

at

Qantir. ions, lephants,ndhorned

desert easts adbeenkept n this

menagerie.

Theartist'sketch f a royalion

huntwas eportedlyound earhe

entranceo the omb f Tutankh-

amun,wheret wasdiscardedyan

artist, robablyorkingn oneof the

lateNewKingdomombs earby.

I3. Recumbent ion

Said

O

be fromGebelein, arly ynastic,

ca. 000-2700 B.C. Quartz;.43/4 in.

(I2

cm).Purchase,letcherund ndGuide

Foundationnc.Gift,966 (66.99.2)

mouth,andgeneralurrinessf ears,

paws, ndbody.These eatures, e-

cidedly hoseof a young ion,mustbe

read s ntentionallyeproducedhar-

acteristicsf theanimal epresented

It is diSlcult o explainhemeanin

of a lion-cub culpturen the context

of Egyptianeligion ndart,espe-

cially n thisearly eriod. n ancient

Egyptionsusually epresentedhe

king.Therewasa famous emple f

the goddessHathor t Gebelein,

where he quartzionwasreportedly

found.Beginningn early imes,

Hathorwasnot only hegoddess f

lovebutalsoa celestialmother eity

whoappearedsa cowsucklinghe

kingandasa wild ioness. sthequart

lion her on,the king?

The abstractorm, ackof a base, nd

theway he tailcurlsup acrosshe

backof thisglowing igure f a lion

dates t to EarlyDynasticimes. t is a

somewhatnigmaticmasterpiece,nd

scholars aveproposedariousnter-

pretations.he animal asbeen den-

tifiedasa manelessmale ion,a

lioness, nda cub.This ast s most

likely.Noneof thehardstoneculp-

tures f powerful dult ions hatwere

madearoundhesamedatematches

the shorthead,over-largeose, oft

17



I4. Amulet n the Form f a Seated

Goddesswith LionHead

Third ntermediateeriod,a.

070-

7I2 B.C.

Faience;.

2/2

in. (6.scm).Purchase,

Edward. Harkness ift,926 (26.7.868)

In Egyptianeligionion godswere

lessprominenthan ionessdeities.

The females mbodiedhe essence

of supernaturalower ndweremuch

revered. owever,t was he general

concept f the ionessdeity hatwas

important,ot themanynames nder

which heappeared. hisoftenmakes

it difflculto distinguishconographic-

allybetween hevariousioness eities

* Tn -

n egyptlan rt.

The enthronedoddess f this

intricate mulet losely esembles

18

New Kingdom tatues f Sakhmet,

goddess f warandpestilence. n the

beautiful,

lender odyof a woman

sits he

menacing eadof a lioness n-

circled y themane f themale,which

hadbecome

symbol f powerused

regardlessf

gender. n herrighthand

the goddess

oldsa sistrum, musical

instrumentikea rattle.The sistrum

wasused n

performanceshatwere

believedo

transformhe dangerous

SakhmetntoBastet, he catgoddess,

herbenign

ounterpart.

If Egyptiansn the New Kingdom

wouldcall his

goddess akhmet,

those iving ntheThird ntermediate

andLate

Periods ftenunderstood

seated iguresf the ioness eity o be

Wadjet,he

goddess f LowerEgypt,

who alsoappearedn the shape f a

cobra seenos.48 and49). Believed

to be endowedwithmagicpowers,

thisWadjetn heramuletic ole s

supported y a demonnamed

Nehebkaw. e appearsn the attice-

workon thesideof thegoddess's

throne sa serpent ithhuman rms

and egs.Before imanotherioness

deity s seen, hisonestanding.

Sinceall ioness eitieswere losel

relatedo thesungod, Re,thisamu-

let'sheadwasoncecrowned y a sun

disk,possibly f gildedbronze r gold

It wasattached y means f a peg

insertedntoa holedrilled etween

the animal'sars.



IS. LargeFeline sHandle f a

Cosmetic poon

Malqata,Dynasty8, reignof Amenhotep

III, ca.

390-I3S3 B.C.

Egyptian labaster;

1.sAsn. (I3 cm).Rogers und,9II (II.2IS.7IS)

The ancientEgyptians

nderstoodhe

leopard, antheraardus,nd he

cheetah, cinonyxjubatus,

espectively,

as the Upper ndLowerEgyptianer-

sionsof thesameanimal.t is there-

foreunderstandablehatnot all

representationsistinguished

learly

betweenhe two arge

elines. n this

handle f a cosmetic

poon he ong

neckof the animal robably

ndicates

that he cheetahiseap s being ele-

brated. he spoon, learly luxury

item,wasfound n the

palace f

KingAmenhotepII,

oneof thegreat

hunters mongEgypt's

haraohs.

Both eopardsndcheetahs

ere

common n Egypt, s theywere

n the

restof Africa uring ncient

imes.

Todayheyare argelyxtinctn Egypt,

the

ast eopardsaving een eenat

the

beginningf the wentiethentury,

whereasare heetahsre till iving

near

heLibyan order.

I6. DoubleLeopard-Head

mulet

froma Girdle

Lahun, yramidf SenwosretI,Dyn-

asty

2,

ca.

900-I840 B.C.

Gold

nd

amethyst;

.

X4

in.

4 S

cm).Purchase,ogers

Fund ndHenryWalters ift,

9I6

(I6.I.6)

Leopardeads ndskins and, ess

often,

hoseof cheetahs served s

priestly armentsndwerebelieved

o

guaranteeejuvenationnd

ertility.

In theMiddle

Kingdomhisbelief ed

to the custom

f includingmages f

leopard eads

n girdleswornby

women.The arge eads f thispiece

weremaden two halves ammered

from heetgoldand olderedogether

The nteriorpaceswere illedwith

pebbles o thata rhythmicoundwas

created hen

he owner a princess

namedSithathoryunetwalked r

danced. he

girdlewas oundwith he

rest f theprincess'sich ewelryn an

undisturbed

icheof herplundered

tombat Lahun.

he threadhatheld

theelements

ogether addisinte-

grated, uteachpiecewaspainstakin

ly recoveredrom hesediment y one

of the expedition's

rchaeologists,uy

Brunton. fter heMuseum cquired

mostof thejewelryn

I9I6,

thegirdle

wasrestrungromBrunton'sketches

19



@' ::

* l w -s -

- -Ft2- -

'

i*^f :*k- ;SX ' 4

|g < - ,, sX r

_#e

a-Mw#-

-R



I7. Wildcat

EarlyDynasty

2,

ca.

990-I900 B.C.

Egyptian labaster;.

S /2 n. (I4 cm).

Purchase,

ilaAchesonWallaceGift,

990

(I990. S9 . I)

Domesticated

atsdidnot appear

n

Egyptian

rtbefore he Middle

King-

dom,and henonly n rare nstances,

buttheAfricanwildcat,

elis ilvestris

libyca,wasalready

epresentedy

artists uring he

Old Kingdom,r

at least romabout

250 B.C.

onward.

The habitat

f thissolitary redator

withyellowurand

stripedmarkings

was he steppe nd

brush t themar-

ginsof the desert,

romwhich t may

havemade oraysnto

thewetlands

in search

f prey, uchasmice,

birds,

and ish.

n themarshesived

nother

wildcat pecies,he

swamp at,

E

chaus,whichhada

heavier ody,olid-

coloredur,anda short ail.

TheEgyptians eregreatlym-

pressedy thewildcat's

rowess,spe-

cially ts

ferocityn fighting oisonous

snakes. hisspecial

alentmadet an

appropriateelper

f thesungod,Re,

in his struggle

gainstheApophis

snake, he embodiment

f allevil.

Sometimeshesun

godhimselfould

evenappear

n theshape f the

"great

tomcat."

he cat's oleas helper

f

the deceased

s expressedn a papyrus

of theThird ntermediateeriod

(ca. 070-7I2

B.C.):

"Oh

catof lapis

lazuli, reat f forms

. . mistressf

the embalmingouse,

rant he beau-

teousWest Land f the

Dead]: n

peace abenediction]."

Thisexquisite

labasterildcat

vividly aptureshe fierce

ndagile

nature f analertpredator.

heartist

hascombinedhebroadmusculature

andshort ail

of the swamp atwith

the stripedurof

E

silvestris.

Thecat

sits ightly

n its haunches,orelegs

r . .

ln a torwarc

osltlon, eacWyo sprlng.

There s nothing

omesticn the

small

headwith

tserect ars,wide-open

eyes,andwell-defined

uzzle. his s

a dangerous

east,wellable o assist

thesungod

againstheevilApophis.

To serve s a container

orcosmeticr

medicinalintment,he

alabaster

formwas

hollowed utuntil, n places,

it becameggshellhin.A stone top-

per now

missing) riginallyit into

the opening

etweenhe cat's ars.

A

containerf suchexquisite

erocity

would urely ave ent

potency o its

contents,

perfumedil.

I8.

Jerboas

MiddleKingdom,ateDynasty

2

or

Dynasty3) ca. 8SO-I6sO

B.C. Faience;

h. I%6

in. (3.I cm); /6 in. (4.2

cm).

Purchase, dward . Harkness

Gift, 926

(26.7.900, .90I)

The Egyptian

erboa from heArabic

yarbu

meaning flesh f lions"),

acu-

lusaculus,s wellequipped

or ump-

ing and,given

ts small ize,can eap

. . . r -

a surprlslng

Wlstancer

1X

or seven

feet.Faienceerboasuchasthesehave

been ound n

a number f Middle

Kingdom

ombs.A group

f three, f

which

woaredepicted ere,

was

allegedlyound

at Heliopolis,n the

southeastern

elta, ogether

itha

faience igure

f a wildcat nd he

magic od no.

38). f this s correct,

thetombowner

hadespeciallytrong

beliefs

n thepotency f

animals.

Thejerboas usually epresented

sittinguprightn its hind egs, ts

paws

aisedoitsmuzzle,

hich s how

many odents

it wheneating. t is

alsopossiblehat

heancientEgyptian

interpretedhe

gesture spraying

to

thesolardeity.Usedas

funeraryo-

tives,

hejerboasmayhave

ervedo

strengthen

hedeceased'sope hathe

orshewould

each newday n com-

panionship

ith he sun

god.

21



the llustration,nd

Hemiechinus

auritus,whichhad arger

ars nd s

shown

n thecenter. he first

of these

speciess nearly

xtinctn Egypt

oday

butmusthavebeen ommonn phara

onic

imes.During

he OldKingdom

short-eared

arvechinusedgehogs

livedon the

steppe ndat the desert

edge n burrowsrom

which hey

emerged

tdawnor

dusk o search

formeals

f insects, mallmice,

and

carrion.

ven oday

he arge-eared

Hemiechinus

wells

n the alluvial

land

of the Nile Delta.

In Egyptianrtdesert edgehogs

arepartofrepresentationsf the hunt

in

the desert. hey

aredepictedither

in

cagebasketsmong he booty

or in

the steppe

nvironmentn front

of

theentrances

o theirdens.The latter

could

be areference

o the hedge-

hogs'

habitof sleeping

nderground

I9. Genet

Dynasty

6-29, 664-380B.C.

Faience;

1.Ysn. (2.2cm).Theodore

M. Davis

Collection,

Bequest f TheodoreM.

Davis,

I9IS (30-8-8S9)

The genet,Genetta

enetta,s a

small

carnivoreelated

o thecivet,Viverra

civetta,

utwith esswell-developed

scentglands.

Egyptianssedartistic

license o show

he small potted

genet, ike he

wildcat nd chneu-

mon(ormongoose),talking

irds

andotherprey

n papyrushickets.

The genet's roper

abitat, owever,

was hetallgrass ndshrubs f the

steppe ndat the desert

margins,

which t would

eave ohunt n the

marshes,s did

thewildcat nd

he

ichneumon. he genet

wassometimes

tamed ndkeptas a mouser.

oday

genets

reextinct n Egypt,

butthey

were requentlyepictedn

the Old

andearlyMiddle

Kingdoms. his

tiny igure ttests

o theirpresence

n

the firstmillennium

.C.

20.

Seal

Amulets n the

Shape f

Hedgehogs

Left

O

right: ew

Kingdom,a.ISS°-

I070 B.C.

Glazedteatite

scroll esign n

base); . /6

in.

I.8

cm).Dynasty6,

664-S2S B.C.

Faience

animal ith ong egs

[gazelle?]n base);

.

%16

n.

I.4

cm).Late

Period, robably

ynasty6, 664-S2s B.C.

Egyptianlue inscribed

n base the

beloved

f Bastet i-mer-diw");. 3%6n.

(2.I cm).

Gifts f HelenMiller

Gould,

9I0

(I0. I30. 87I,

. 884, . 882)

Twokindsof hedgehogs

ereknown

to the ancientEgyptians:

he desert

hedgehog, araechinus

ethiopicus,

representedn the eftand

right n



when

ood s scarce.

heir eappear-

anceafter

ongabsencesmay

be the

basis

orthe Egyptians'

elief

hat

hedgehogs

eraldedherenewal

f life,

anexplanationor heiruse n amulets.

Hedgehog

mulets

werealso

hought

toprotect gainst

oisonous

nakebites.

Amuletshowing

he ong-eared

em-

iechinusre ess requent

han hose

n

theshape

f thedesert

edgehog.

2I. HareAmulet

Ptolemaic

eriod,

04-30

B.C. Faience;

1. I%8n. (3.5

m).Rogers

und, 944(44.4.z5)

Amonghesmall nimalsf the

Egyptian

esert

s thedesert are,

Lepus apensis.

n ancientimes

twas

not considered

orthy

rey or

princely

unters,

nd n representa-

tions t

appearsnly

occasionally

among

he spoils

of thehunt.

In

manyhunting

cenes,

owever,t

can

befound n the

background

s part

of the andscape.

he

tombrelief

f

Ra-m-kajseeno.

2),

forexample,

includes

desert are

n much he

sameposition

sthe onethat

orms

this

amulet.t crouches

ow to the

ground,

ars lattened,

ntenton

elud-

ingthehunter's

otice.

Thedesert

hare'sand-colored

ur(here

rans-

formed o

an amuletic

lue) ervest

well

as camouflage.

fdetected,

ow-

ever, he

hareuses ts

great peed

o

help

t toescape.

The hare'smuleticole s not

known or

certain. ncient

Greek

nd

Roman

uthors elieved

hathares

could leep

with heir yes

openand

reproduce

ithout opulation.

f

these

werealso

Egyptianeliefs,

he

hare

mighthave epresented

xtreme

vigilance

r the

primevaleity's

elf-

creating

ower.

22.

Hareas aHieroglyph

Deir l-Bahri,

emple f

MentuhotepI,

DynastyI,

latereign f

MentuhotepI,

ca. 040-tOIO

B.C.

Paintedimestone;

.of

hieroglyph

1X6n.(5cm).

Giftof Egypt

Explorationund,907

(07.230.z)

Thisdetail

f arelief

romKingMen-

tuhotep

I'smortuary

emple

tDeir

el-Bahri

s a good

example

f thecare

with

whichEgyptian

rtists

endered

hieroglyphicigns nmonumentaln-

scriptions.

n the

pictographic

riting

system f ancient

Egypt, he

hare ep-

resents

hecombination

f consonant

wn and

was husused

n the mportan

word

meaning

tobe."

23



At thebeginningf phara-

onichistory

onsiderable

portionsf theNile

Delta,modern gypt's

mostdensely opulated

rea, on-

sisted f

swampsndmarshes.ther

wetlandsccurred

soccasionalock-

ets artherouth long

heNileand n

thegeologicalormation

nown s

theFayumepression.

nancientimes

the ake tFayumrainednto

he

Nileandmust ave een onsiderably

largerndess alty

han t is today.

Typical arshegetation

rewnthese

waterlogged

reas.he amous gyptian

papyrusrew igher

han man'sead,

providing

n deal nvironmentora

multitude

f birdsbothndigenous

andmigratory)

nd quatic ammals.

Therewasalso nabundance

f fish

andother quaticife

n theNile t-

selfand

n the rrigationanals,

swell

as n the altwatersf both he

Mediterraneannd

heRedSea.

An

OldKingdomomb nscription

describeshehuntn themarsh

s

a "delightf theheart."

addlingn

light eed oatshrough

hepapyrus

thickets,

ishing nd owling, as

or

theEgyptiansmost

desirableay o

experience

herichnessndbeauty

f

divine

reation. eremen ould

rove

24

their trengthn encounters ithdan-

gerous nimalsuchas crocodiles

r

hippos; heycould pear ishor catch

ducks ndgeeseby deftly

urlingheir

throw ticks.

Women ouldgather

flowers

ndpapyrusor

adornmentr

helphandlehe captured irds.

In religion,

rt,and iterature,he

marshlands,

venmore han hedesert

andsteppe,

ame o beendowedwith

the

characterf a paradise.

overs

likenedheir morous ursuitso those

of bird atchers

n papyrushickets,

theme xpressedn a New

Kingdom

love

song:

Thewild

goose oars nd woops,

It alights n

thenet;

Manybirdswarm bout,

I havework o do.

I amheld

astby my ove,

Alone,my

heartmeets ourheart,

From ourbeauty 'llnotpart

In temple ituals ods

and heking

were een nthe roleof marshland

hunters efeating

he forces f evil

embodiednthe hippo,

as expressed

in

linesof ritualextsuch

as these

concerninghe god Horus:

A happy ay

have astmyharpoon

lustily

A happy ayMyhands ave hemas-

tery f his

thehippo's]ead

I have

ast t hecows f the

hippopotami

nwaterf eight

cubits . .

I have

urled ithmyright

and,

I swung ithmy

eft,

Asa bold en-man

oes.

Asa child,Horus, he sky

god of

kingship,

asbelievedo have

been

raisedn the marshes, herehis

mother,sis,hid

himagainsthe evil

Seth,

whohadkilledHorus's

ather,

Osiris.

uch ituals ndmyths xplain

why mages f the

hunt n themarshe

were avoritehemes

of tombreliefs

andpaintings

hroughoutharaonic

history.n essence

uch cenes erved

as symbols

orthepower f nature

o

renewtself onstantly,

cycle n

whicheachEgyptian

ishedo par-

ticipate. resent-dayiewers f marsh

scenesn ancient

Egyptian rt hould

realizehat hey

do not seenaturalis-

tic landscape

epictionsut dealized

images.However,

hroughheirkeen

sense

orrealisticetail,Egyptian

artistsmanaged

O capturemuchof

the country'seautifullora

nd aun

in themythicalandscapes.

etlands

n d

aterways



:

*

'

;

.

*

s

i e

\' 1

?

'

r

., .s

+

.

v

.

' .

.

* ,

tk

t

.o.

*

',,fi,

9-

..

.

. .

L.&''

='^'l*s

23.

Otter

Ptolemaic

eriod,

04-30

B.C.

Bronze;

h.

I73/8

in.

(44cm).

Gift

of

LilyS.

Place,

I9

23(236.2)

Old

Kingdom

rtists

epicted

he

otter

atching

ish n

the

papyrus

thicket.

During

he

Late

Period

nd

Ptolemaic

imes

otters

n

bronze

tat-

uettes

uch

as

this

one

were

epre-

sented

tanding,

orepaws

aised,

top

small

bronze

oxes.

As

in the

case

of

baboons,

he

raised

aws

of

the

otter

isa

pose

of

adoration

efore

he

sun

godwhenherisesnthemorning.

The

great

ymn

o

Aten

beautifully

expresses

his

daily

occasion

or

prayer

* *

anc

reJolclng:

Earth

rightens

hen

you

dawnn

light and

When

you

shineas

Aten

of

daytime;

As

you

dispel

he

dark,

As

you

cast

your

ays,

The

Two

Lands

re

n

festivity.

Awakehey tand ntheir eet,

You

have

oused

hem;

Bodies

leansed,

lothed,

Their

arms

dore

our

appearance.

In

myth

otters

were

attached

o

the

goddess f

Lower

Egypt,

Wadjet,

whose

ult

was

centered

n

Buto,

n

the

northern

elta.

The

animal

may

have

been

common

n

the

shores

f

nearby

ake

Burullus.



marshlandcenes,

ichwith

plantand

bird ife.Our ragment

aspartof

thisborder

romroom

E. Themarsh-

landhunter

wasomitted n this

paint-

ing; twasenough

hat he king

himselfwasable

o stride crosshe

pavement

smaster f the marshland

paradise.

In this ragment

f the Malqata

floorpainting, duck s seenamong

the branches

f an unidentified

arsh

plant

beside rchingtems

ofpapyrus.

Many ypesof

waterfowl reed

n

Europe, sia,

andnorthern frica

nd

winter

n Egypt.This

one ssketched

in profile,

tshead,body,

and egs

outlined n black

ndred.Black

ines

of varying

hicknesses

efine he

featheringn

its neckand lanks;

he

curving

inesgive

he birda fullness

that s further nhanced

y the

pecu-

liarpatchy

istributionf blue

and

ocher

paint.Throughhis

combina-

tionof draftsmanship

nd

painting,

theartist

ascapturedhe essence

f

the

duck:ts head

pulled racefully

back

rom he fullcrop,

ts heavy

body s caught

nmotion,

walking n

widely pacedegswiththe ducEs

typically

wkwardait.

On closer

tudyt becomes ppar-

ent

that heheavy

bird ouldnever

reston the flimsy

eaves ndbranche

of

the marsh lant

hat urrounds

t.

Both he shrub nd

neighboring

papyrus,

reated ntirely

ithbold

strokes

f the paintbrush,

eem

o

serve nly

as background

orthebird

24.

StuccoPavement

ragment

Malqata,

ynasty

8,

reign f Amenhotep

III,

ca.

390-I353

B.C.

Stucco ithblue,

green, ellow,

ndbrown igments

upper-

most

dge, ncludingopof ducEs

ead,

restored);0/2

X I6X4 in.

(S2 42.scm).

Rogers

und,920 (20.2.2)

On

thewestbank

of theNile oppo-

siteThebes

Luxor),King

Amenhotep

III

andQueenTiye

residedn a vast

palace

n thedesert,

ear hepresent-

dayvillage

alledMalqata.

he floor

of alarge audience

all"n thispalace

was

covered ithstucco,

ndon it

Egyptian rtists

ainted

large ool

withfish,plants,

ndswimming

birds.At the

bordersurrounding

he

poolwere

painted rightly olored

26



2s.

Fragment

roma

TempleRelief

Deir

el-Bahri,

DynastyI, late

reignof

Mentuhotep I,

ca.

2040-20I0 B.C.

Painted

limestone;

S X I3 in.

(38 X 33 cm).

Giftof

Egypt

Exploration

und, 906

(06.I23I.I)

The

birds nthis

ragment

re

caught

in a

clapnet

et bythe

fowlers f

King

Mentuhotep

I.The

meshof the

net

appears

n

yellow-whiteaint

against

the

birds' odies.

Someof

theen-

trapped

aterfowlit

quietly, erhaps

not yet

realizingheir

plight,

while

others lyup,

attemptingo

escape.

The

eft

uppermost

ird ouldbe a

European

oot.The

otherbirds

ould

be

curlews

ndgulls

orshovelers.

Many uch

waterfowl

re

common

winter uests

n

Egypt,

lthough

theybreed n

Europe,

sia,and

other

parts fnorthern

frica.

nnature

shovelers

ave

greenish ecks

ndare

otherwise

hite,black,

nd

blue-gray.

Coots

areblack,

nd

curlews remost-

ly

brownish.

ulls an

be anumber

of

colors,

romwhite

o browno

gray,

depending

n the

species. he

brown

and

yellowpaint

n the

Mentuhotep

reliefwas

most

probablydded

during

restorationf the

temple n

Dynasty9.

The

original aintmay

well

havebeencloser

othe

birds'eal

colors.The

backgroundas

originall

bluewater.

The

fragment

ame

romone of

the

many eliefs

hatonce

decorated

the

columned

orticoes

ndhallsof

MentuhotepI's

mortuaryemple.

Thisking

reunited

gypt fter

he

period

fdisunity

alledhe

First

Intermediate

eriod.His

temple's

innovative

errace

rchitecture

nflu-

enced

Egyptian

rchitecture

orcen-

turies

o come,

while hevast

wall

reliefs

eflected

he

n-depthtudies

of

OldKingdom

eliefs

madeby

the

king's

rtists.

27



26. CosmeticContainersn the

Shape f Mallards

Dynasty

8,

ca.

400-I300 B .C.

Tinted

ivory; .

3%6

in.

9

cm);

X4

in.

9-5

cm).

Rogers und,940 (40.2.2, .3)

Thesedelicatevoryboxesare n the

shape f mallards, nas latryrhynchos,

thathavebeenprepareds offerings,

with he feathers luckedrom heir

wingsandbodies.Only he birds' le-

gantheads ndgracefullyurving

necks etain he black eatheringnd

whiteneckring ypical f thisspecies.

The artisthascarefullyarvedwebbed

feeton the undersidef eachcon-

tainer. omeof thewaterfowlaught

in netswerekept n enclosuresnd

fattened, lthough o duck pecies

was otally omesticatedn ancient

Egypt.

28

27. Perfume essel n the Shape f

TwoTrussedDucks

MiddleKingdom,robablyateDynasty

2-

I3, ca. 800-I65O B.C. Anhydrite;. 6X4 in.

(I7 cm).Giftof Edward. Harkness,927

(27.9 .I)

Skilled raftsmen,robably orking

somewheren MiddleEgypt,used

anhydriteo sculpt essels orcos-

metic ngredients. f those hat ur-

vive, he Museum'srussed-duck

vessel s undoubtedlyhe mostbeau-

tiful.The two ducks reprepared

o

be offeredo a deity n a waysimilar

to

the vorymallardsno.26),buthere

the artist asused he two bodies

most ngeniouslyo forma single

lenticularlask, ranslatinghe oints f

the bird'segs nto four ittleknuckles

forthevessel o standon. The necks

of the birds, ooslendero support

theirheavyheads, rearched ver o

formhandles.

Witha rare ouchof

sentiment,heartist asmade he

birds' ecks eem o giveway o the

neckof thevessel

betweenhem n

whatcanonlybe called gesture f

*o * 1 1 * >

sacrltlclal suDmlsslon.

Anhydritesa rare, emitransluce

stone, ightmauve

r faintly lue,and

is characterizedy theway t takes

highpolish. nthe earlyMiddleKing

domEgyptianuarrymeniscovered

source f anhydrite

n the mountains

of theeastern gyptian esert,which

wasprobablyhesource or he stone

usedhere.



3

1

'1.

l

:S

JFe

SF:;S.

r

'4?

:iF

, tF

sn t

' *S

: d

'

EN

ir.

wB: t

g i:e

- Ni

.;. ,fe 7 i

^ - * t ' ' ,5

8 J



29.

Hieroglyphic Sign

Showing

an

Ibis

El-Ashmunein

Hermopolis

Magna),

Ptolemaic

eriod, 04-30

B.C. Polychrome

faience;

. 6X8n.

(IS*Sm). Purchase,

Edward

. Harkness

Gift,I926

(26.7.992)

This

exquisite

relief inlay

shows a

sacred

ibis, Threskiornis

aethiopica,

walking

atop the

crossbar

of a standard

that identifies it as a deity. Its beak

is

supported

by a feather,

signifying

supreme

order

(maat). The ibis

was

associated

with Thoth,

the god

of wis-

dom, whose

primary

sanctuary

was

located

in Hermopolis

Magna,

Middle

Egypt,

where the inlay

was found.

It

was one

of several that belonged

to

elaborate

wooden shrines

erected

to

house tatues f deities.Thisexample

was

partof a

large nscription.

t rep-

resents

hieroglyphic

ign hat

could

beused

at theend

of thewordhb

(Egyptian

or

"ibis")r to

write he

name

Djehuty"Thoth").

The

sacredbis,

whichhasnot

been een

nEgypt

inceabout

876,

was argerhanrelated

pecies

ow

living n

central nd

southern

frica.

Huge locks ncecame oEgypt rom

Ethiopiao breed

n the

wetlands

during

he annualNile flood.

The

sacredbis

hasa whitebody

anda

black ead

andneck.

Theinlay

uses

green o

representhe

whiteareas

because

reens the

colorof vegeta-

tionand

ertility.

28. Statuette

f Thoth

Ptolemaic

eriod, 04-30

B.C. Faience;

h.

SS2n. (I4 cm).

Purchase, dward

.

Harkness

Gift, I926(26.7.860)

This urquoise-coloredaiencetatuette

is a beautiful

xample

f theskill

with

which

Egyptian

rtistsombined

ni-

malheads nd

humanbodies

ocreate

totally

onvincing

reatures,n this

case

the bis-headed

od,

Thoth.

30



bly

he titular

ingofUpper

Egypt,

Painedjem

,who, as

highpriest

f

Amun,

hadbeen

responsibleor he

reburialf

severaloyal

mummies.

On

Nany's

apyrus, hich

was ound

rolledup

at theside

of hermummy,

theheron

ppears

lanked yher

name

and

witha

group f solardeities.

3I.

Butterflies

Lisht,

northernemetery,

ynasty

2-I3,

ca.

970-I640 B.C.

Faience.Left:1.Y6n.

(I-S

m).Rogers

Fundand

Edward .

HarknessGift,

922 (zZ.I.I394). Upper

right: .1M6

n. (I.8 cm).

RogersFund, 9Is

(IS.3.sI3). ottom:

.I)l6n. (2.4

cm). Rogers

Fund, 9IS IS3

SI2)

Butterfliesre

amonghe

most

charming

f thesmall

winged rea-

tures

depicted

n Egyptian

marsh

scenes.Theseamulets

ypify he

Egyptian

rtists'

pproachobutterfly

representations.he

artists

lmost

invariablyhose

o show hem

rom

above, he

colorful ings

pread pen.

Butterflies

ere requently

sed o

decorateewelry

nancient

Egypt.

Among

hemost

beautifill

xamples

are hedetailednlaysn theCairo

Museumn the

armletsf

Queen

Hetepheres,otherf

KingKhufu

(ca.

55I-2528 B.C.). The

amuletic

meaningf

thesensects

s not

known.

30.

Heron

Western hebes, omb6s (burial f Nany),

DynastyI, reignof

Psusennes,

I040-

992 B.C.

Drawing npapyrus; .

of papyrus

(overall)4%8

in. (37 cm).

RogersFund,

930

(30.3.32)

InEgypt

herons re

year-roundesi-

dents

n the Nile

Deltaandalong

he

Red

Seacoastand

annual

winter

guests n the

wholecountry.

he

birds

migraterom

Europe, sia,and

otherparts fAfrica.udging ythe

frequency

ithwhich

hese

magnifi-

centbirds,

withtheir

ornamental

crests,

re

depicted, gyptians

ust

have oved

hem. t isnot

surprising,

therefore,o find

one amonghe

crea-

tures

depicted n afunerary

apyrus

suchasthis,

oundby

the

Museum's

excavatorsn

Thebes n the

spring f

I929. Theancient

Egyptians

elieved

that heir

kingascended

o heaven

in theformof thecrested ird,and

artists lso

often

depictedhe eg-

endary

hoenix sa

heron. n

every-

day ife these

avian xpertsn

fishing

wereusedby

fowlers s

decoys o

lure

other

birds ntothenets.

The

papyrus

elongedo the

king's

daughterany, he

chantress

fAmun,

at her

deathanelderly

woman f

con-

siderable

irth.Her

atherwasproba-

32.

Dragonfliesnd

Damselflies

Lisht,northern

emetery,

ynasty2-I3,

ca.

970-I640 B.C.

Faience.Upper

eft

(piercedransverselynderwings): . in.

(I.9 cm). Rogers

FundandEdward

.

HarknessGift,

922 (22.I.285).

Right

(pierced

ransverselynder

wings):

. 4 in.

(I.9 cm).

RogersFund, 9IS

(Is.3.sI9).Bottom

pierced

ertically):

1.

1M6n. (I.8 cm).

RogersFund, 9IS

(IS-3 * SI4)

Although

epresentationsffour-

winged

nsectsnmarsh

cenes nd

amulets ave

been

dentified s

bothdragonfliesndgrasshoppersn

flight, he

firstnterpretations

more

convincing. ragonflies

nddam-

selflies

eedon the

much-dreaded

mosquito nd

ts larvae,

servicehe

ancient

Egyptians ust

have

appreci

ated.

Thismay

accountn part

or hei

appeal samulets.

hefinest

amulets

clearly efinehe

nsect'sour

wings,

as

dotwo of

these.

31



33. Crocodile

Late Stcentury .c.-early

IStcentury .D.

Granitetailmissing); .

2/2

in.

(I08

cm).

Purchase,

he Bernard ndAudrey

Aronson

Charitable rust

Gift, n memory f her

belovedhusband,Bernard ronson,

992

(I992.I3)

Thisgraniterocodile,rocodylus

niloticus,

culpted

n a relativelyate

period f Egyptianrt, s

a fineblend

of naturalismnd

xpressivetyliza-

tion.Crocodiles

nce wam nd ed

in theriver ndbaskedn tsbanksn

great

numbers,uttoday,

ike he

hippo, hey

havedisappearedrom

Egyptnorthof Aswan,while n the

newLakeNasser

hey eem o be

thriving

gain.Although

he ancient

Egyptians

omewhat

himsically

called

he crocodile wrinkleace,"

withoutdoubt

hese eptileswere

he

mostdangerous

reaturesf their

country

nda constant

hreat o the

people

and heir ivestock.

raveling

by

boat,crossinghe

waterways

with

herds, r bathingn the river

ut

the ivesofmen,women,andanimals

at risk.Being

ucha strong dversary

the crocodile

ot surprisinglylayed

a promlnento e ln egyptlanmaglc.

An earlyMiddleKingdom

tory ells

of a magician ho formed

small

crocodile

f waxand hrew t

into the

water. he

wax igurewas ransform

into a lifesize eptile,whichdevoured

the over

of the magician'sdulterou

wife.The deityrelated

o the croco-

dilewas hegod Sobek,

whowasven-

erated rimarily

n the Fayum

egion

32



34 Hippo

Middle

Kingdom,

a.

900-I650

B.C.

Aragonite;

.of base,

3X6in. (8

cm).

RogersFund,

920

(20.2.25)

3S

Hippo

Deir

el-Bahri,

rea

f causeways,

yn-

asty 8,

ca. 473-I425

B.C. Painting

n

limestone;

tone

41M6

4 in. (I2

X

I0.5

cm).

Rogers

Fund, 923

(23.3.6)

Thehippopotamus,ippopotamus

amphibius,

usthave

been

very

com-

mon

n Egypt

during

he

earlier

eri-

ods,

butman's

unting

ursuits

nd

ever-increasingncroachmentnthe

hippo's

etland

nvironment

radu-

ally

reduced

he

number

f these

magnificent

easts.

he ast

wild

hip-

pos

were een

n Egypt

n

thefirst

half

of thenineteenth

entury.

Theancient

Egyptians

ere

well

aware

f the

phenomenal

trength

f

thehippopotamus,

hich

artists

ap-

tured

by

emphasizing

hehuge

unseg-

mented ody, s n this igurerom

the

Middle

Kingdom.

old

trokes

f

thickly

pplied

rown

ndblack

aint

and

adangerous

ed

on the

belly

and

eyeachieve similarffect nthe

artist's

ketchrom

Dynasty

8. The

awe nspired

y

ananimal

hat

could

devastate

farmer's

ields

vernight

was

empered

y theEgyptians'

elief

inthe

animal's

evitalizing

ower.

As

a

creature

rom

he

fertile

mud, he

hippo

embodied

ivine

powers

uar-

anteeing

ebirth.

Onemight

ecogniz

this

benevolent

spect

f the

beast

inthefriendlyaces fmanyhippo

figures.

' *v.S '

.

. i.

. . , o

. , ,

t-., \

sW''.

s.w

33



36.

Turtle

Dynasty2, ca. 99I-I783

B.C. Rockcrystal

inlaidwith amethyst,

urquoise,ed asper,

and apis

azuli; .IlA6n. (4.7 cm). Purchase,

Edward

. HarknessGift, 926

(26 7tI359)

To heancient gyptians,

heAfrican

waterurtle,

rionyxriunguis,ike

manyther nimals, ay ave eemed

to possess dual

haracter.eing

n

animalf the

hadowyeep, he

urtle

embodiedosmic

angernd hus

was itually

nnihilated,

ut tspower

could

lsobemadeo

work o thead-

vantagef people

ywardingff

evil.

Thispowermade

urtles otent mu-

lets, hree fwhich re

hown ereat

right ndopposite).

he arge,

ide-

eyed labaster

urtleopposite)erved

asa coverora cosmeticish,protect-

*

* * *

2

lng zecontentsn a slml

aramu tlc

function.

37.

Frogs and

Toads

Back

ow rom eft O right:

Frogon a lotus

pad:Dynasty8,

ca.

55O-I300

B.C. Bronze

(possibly weight);h. I3M6n.

(2 cm). Rogers

Fund,

970 (I970.I97). Toad(?):

ynasty6-

29, 664-380 B.C.

Lapis lazuli horizontal

us-

pensionubeandvertical ierce rombelow,

to accommodate

eg[?])i . I in. (2.s cm).

Gift of DariusOgden

Mills, 904 (o4.2.378).

M.

Davis, 9IS (30.8.86I).

Frog:New

Kingdom,

a. SSO-IO79/69 B.C.

Faience

(pierced);

.

16

in. (I.I cm). Gift of

Helen

MillerGould, 9I0 (IO.I30.I9I8)

Inthe marshes,

swellas n the allu-

vial andwhen he annual

lood

waters

adreceded,

housandsf

frogs ppeared,heirdeep-throated

chorus

illing he nightair,as

they

continueo

do today n the banks f

theNile.The

ancientEgyptians

sso-

ciated

hesemusical mphibians

f

the fertile

mudwithcreation,

irth,

andregeneration.

muletsn the

image

f frogs nd oads,

uchas

these,

werepopular.

Iamtheresur-

rection"an

be foundwritten

n the

underside

f such rog

iguresven

fromearlyChristianimes.

In the small

amuleticigures

t

isnot always

asy odistinguish

between he

Egyptianrog,Rana

mascareniensis,

nd he

toad,Bufo

regularis

rB. viridis,

hichhasa

shorter

aceandknobby

kinon its

back.

The tree rog,

Hyla avignyi,

possiblyepresented

n one of the

amuletsn

the front ow, s rare

n

Egypt.

Frog:Dynasty6-29,

664-380 B.C. Chlorite

(pierced orizontally);

. I3M6n. (2 cm).

Gift

of HelenMillerGould,

9I0 (IO.I30.I928).

Toad(?): ynasty 6-29,

664-380 B.C.

Faience pierced

orizontally);

. IM6n.

(I.8

cm).Gift of HelenMillerGould,

9I0

(IO.I30.I92I)

Front ow, eft O right:

Frog:Dynasty9,

ca. 295-II86

B.C. Redporphyry

pierced

horizontally);.IS6

n. (2 cm). Purchase,

Edward

. HarknessGift, 926

(26.7.II43).

Tree rog(?):

ew Kingdom, a. ISS°-

I079/69

B.C. Faience small oop

in front);

1.Y6 n. (IS cm). Purchase,

dward .

Harkness

Gift,

926

(26.7.I028). Frog:

Dynasty9-20, ca. 295-I079/69

B.C.

Serpentinitepierced orizontally;otusand

birdon base);

.Y6 n. (I S cm).

Theodore

M. DavisCollection,

Bequest f Theodore

34

W:

pF



38. Toads,Frogs, ndother

Animals

on a MagicRod

Late

)ynasty I2-I3,

ca.

850-I650 B.C.

Glazedteatite;. I in. 28 cm).Purchase,

Edward. Harkness ift,

926

(26.7.I27S)

Thiscomplex bject onsists

f a

tripartitetafflike aseand

seven ndi-

vidual igures f animals. he seg-

ments f thebase rehollow; riginally

theywereprobablyoined

bypegs.

The beautifullyraftedittle

animals

areattached y means fpins hat

fit holeson the undersidesf the

animals nd n thebase.

Previous

publicationsave hown his

rod, he

best-preservedxample f its kind,

with he animalsacingowardhe

center.A recent xamination,ow-

ever, evealedhat he outlines f each

animal, learly reservednthe base,

faceoutward.

Thisremarkableieceepitomizes

Egyptian eliefs bout he

universe

and he symbolic oleof certain

ni-

mals.Outward-facingions ymbolize

the two mounds f the Egyptian

horizon etweenwhich hesunrises

in its daily enewed ctof creation.

Accordingo Egyptian eliefs he

sunhasenemies ndhelpersnthe

struggle gainsthenightly haos.

The turtle ftenappearss an

enemy

butheremayrepresenthere-creative

powers f thedeep,while elines,

roc-

odiles, nd rogor toaddeities re

knownhelpers f thesun.Baboons

tendingamps ndbeneficialye

em-

blems wedjat)rotecthecorners

f

theworld.The faceof a leopard

not

visible ere) s carved t eachendof

the rod.

The rectangularase akes he

formof a reedmatwithcrossbind-

ings.Suchmatswere ommonly sed

in ancientEgypt s blankets n which

offerings erepresentedr as rugson

whichkingsknelt n prayer. he mat

heredefines consecratedone n

which he cosmic ventof thesolar

triumph ver vil s beingmagically

enacted. he object ormed artof a

burial sa guaranteef rebirth.t

mayhavebeen oundat Heliopolis,

the center f Egypt'solarworship.

39. Turtles

From eft to right:New Kingdom,

ca. 55O-I300 B.C. Carnelian;.Ysn.

(2.2 cm). Gift of HelenMillerGould, 9I0

(IO.I30.2397). Second ntermediateeriod,

ca. 65O-I55O B.C. Quartz ndhematite;

1.1M6n. (2 cm). Gift of HelenMiller

Gould,

9I0 (IO.I30.2398).

Dynasty ,

ca.

3I00-2900 B.C.

Alabaster;.2lS6 n.

(6.8 cm). Purchase, ina Walker

Wainwrightnd Beatrice ppelGifts,

980

(I980. 3I0)

35

, .k- . r 4$ {ar9,

5

t

.

we



40.

Fish n a Canal

El-Qantir,ynasty9,

reign f RamessesI,

ca. 279-I2I3 B.C.

Detail f

polychrome

faienceile;h.

7X8

in.

20

cm).Purchase,

Rogersund,Edward

. Harknessift,

andby

exchange,922, I929, I93S (35.I.IO4)

While

he Egyptiansaused

hepop-

ulations

f somewater reatureso

diminish yhunting

ndencroaching

on their

nvironments,

ther pecies

flourished

nman-made

anals nd

irrigationitches.

n the scenede-

pictedon this

ile,whatcouldbe

an

elephant-snout

ish (Mormyridveam-

ily)swims

betweenhe otuses

na

canal

borderedy otherwaterplants.

Fishof this amilyivenearhebottom

of muddy, low-moving

aterways

andwouldhave

beenrightat home n

an ancient

anal. n typical

Egyptian

manner,he representation

ombines

a plan

of the canalbetween

tstwo

banks

ndprofile iews

of the plants

and ish.

Thistile s one of

a group f deco-

rative rchitectural

lementshought

to haveadorned

RamessesI's

private

apartments

n his easternDelta

residence,

iramesse.

4I.

Mollusk hells

Left:Cowrie.Lisht,northern

emetery,

near ombendosure758,

Dynasty2-I3,

ca. 990-I65O

B.C. Gold;1.%8 in. (I-S

m).

RogersFund, 909 (O9.I80.I200).

Right:

Bivalve hell.LishtNorth,

omb

54,

late

Dynasty2, ca. 85O-I800

B.C. Gold;1. in.

(2vS m). Rogers

Fund, 907 (07.227.I8)

_r

_w

Sinceprehistoric

imes,actualmol-

lusk hellswere

usedbyEgyptians

s

objects f adornment

ndwere ash-

ioned ntocosmetic ontainers

nd

painters'

alettes. hell orms

were

alsoreproduced

n goldandsilver.

Thistype

of jewelrywas

especially

prevalenturing

he MiddleKing-

dom,

when hetwo shells hown

here

weremade.The

smallerne s a cow-

rieshell,

while he arger

s an uniden

tified

bivalve.Cowries re

houghto

have

been ertilityymbols ndwere

oftenpartof women's

irdles but

ee

no. 6, where eopard

eads reused

instead f cowries),

hereas ivalves

werewornby

bothsexes, ither s

a

singlependant n a chainor thread r

strungwithother

hells o forma

necklace.

36



-

,

hofER

42.

Dish

n

the

Shape

f

a

Bolti

(Fish)

Dynasty

8,

reign

of

Tuthmosis

II,

ca.

I479-I425

B.C.

Glazed

teatite;

.

S8

in.

(I8.I

m).

ift

of

James

Douglas,

890

(90.6.24)

Fish

f

he

genus

Tilapiv

bolti

n

Egypt

oday)

s

the

most

common

ishof gypt,asily

ecognized

y

its

long

dorsal

in.

ts

manner

f

reproduction,

hatching

ts

eggs

n

its

mouth,

was

interpreted

y

the

ancient

Egyptians

as

a

ind

f

spontaneous

generation.

In

gyptian

rt,

he

Tibpiv

thus

ym-

bolized

he

renewal

f

life.

The

fish

was

lso

hought

o

be

a

companion

of

he

un

god.

This

fish-shaped

ish

has

he

kind

ofhallowepressionnits

reverse

(below)

hat

was

generally

sed

or

he

pharaoh.

preparation

nd

presentation

f

cos-

metic

substances.

he

piece

s

too

large,

owever,

o

have

been

used

as

an

rdinary

osmetic

alette

nd

was

probably

ade

or

emple

se

for

ex-

ample,

o

anoint

cult

statue

or

for

a

oyal

urial.

he

cartouche

f

Tuth-

mosis

II

below

he

ateral

in

suggests

thatheishwasagift oorfrom his

37



In the

agricultural

ociety f phara-

onicEgypt low flood

meant amine,

and oomuchwater roughthedan-

gerof overflooding,

ith he fields

too wet

to workduring

heplanting

season.

A "perfect"lood

wasgreeted

withgreat

oy."Themeadows

are]

laughingwhen

he river anks

re

flooded,"ays

a text n one

of theOld

Kingdom

yramidhambers,

nd

a

popular

ymn o the

Nilegod (Hapy)

praises im as

the one

Who floods

he fields hatRehas

made

To nourish

llwhothirst

. .

Lawful,imely,

e comes orth

FillingEgypt,South

andNorth,

As one

drinks, lleyes

areon him,

Who

makes is bounty

verflow.

In pharaonic

imes,

however,gri-

cultural

ctivities ere onsiderably

lessextensive

han heyare oday.

Largeracts

f the alluvial

andwere

left unplowed, sedonly orseasonal

grazing.n the

southernegion

f

MiddleEgypt

duringheearlyMiddle

Kingdom,

herewas

sufficient ood-

land oprovideimber

orshipbuild-

ing.Thehighground

t the desert

In

ancientimes,

snow,

he

Egyptians

eliedn the

Nile or

most f life's ecessities.he

river rovided

continuousup-

plyofwatern a

land f little

ain. t

alsodepositedutrient-rich

edi-

ments

longts

ength ach ear

or

thousands

f years.

twashere,

n

the

alluvialand,

hat heEgyptians

plantedrops;

aisedivestock;

nd

built heir ouses,

illages,nd

ities.

Until heerection

f theAswan

dams,

ulminating

ith he amous

HighDambuilt n the

960S,

the

naturefthealluvial

andscape

as

primarily

etermined

y he

annual

inundation.

he loods riginated

in theEthiopian

ighlandsnd

outh-

ernSudan

ith he ummer

on-

soons;

nJulyhe

rivern Egypt

tarted

to risequickly,

nd he lood

waters

covered

ost f thealluvial

and rom

mid-August

o late

September.

y

October

ndNovember,

henhe

waters ad eceded,ropsould e

sown or

harvestingrom anuary

o

April.

asinrrigation,

system

f

canals nd

dams nclosingields,

increased

heavailabilitynd

produc-

. . r

r r

r

tlvlty r

wateror armlng.

marginsnd

here nd here

n the

Delta

upportedvergreen

nddecid

uousrees nd hrubshatwere

watered

poradically

yrains nd

he

river.

hese islands"

f high round

were

deal orhuman

ettlements.

Because

f the

amountf human

activity,uch

f theanimal

ifeonthe

alluvial

andwasdomesticated,

ut

wild

reatures,specially

mall

mam-

mals, mphibians,

irds,

nd nsects,

found oomo coexist

appily

ith

humans

nd heir omesticated

ni-

mals. hewildanimalsf thealluvia

landmadeheir ests

nddens

n the

areas bovehehigh-water

ine

and

foragedor

ood n the loodplain,

marshes,nd

occasionally

hedesert.

Becausef

thesemovements,he

en-

vironments

f some

nimalsescrib

here

sbelongingo the

alluvialand

overlapped

ith hose f

themarshr

steppe-desert.his

s especially

rue

forbirds

nd nsects. he

Egyptian

themselves,hetherendingheir

herds

rworking

heir ields,ollowe

therise

nd allof

theriver,moving

their nimals

o highareasuring

he

flood

nd preading

utover he

ow

ground uring

herest ftheyear.

38

h e

lluvial

a n d



of shrew,

rociduraflavescensdeltae

andC.

nana, ut

t isdiffilculto deter-

mine

whichsrepresentedn this mall

bronzeigure.

44. Ichneumon

Ptolemaic

eriod, 04-30 B.C. Bronze

(inscribedn base:"Wadjet

iving ife to

Pedineith, on of

Isemkhebi");. 1/6 in.

(I2 cm).

Gift of DariusOgdenMills, 904

(o4O2-6S4)

Like he

African ildcatnd he

genet,heEgyptian ongoose,

ewpes-

tes

chneumon,

lso alled

haraohXsat,

43. Shrew

Ptolemaic eriod, 04-30

B.C.

Bronze;

1.3S8n. (8 cm). Gift of

DariusOgden

Mills, 904 (o4.2.465)

"The oracious"as

heancient

Egyptians'ameor he hrew,n

epithethat ptly escribeshe eed-

ing

habits f this inyanimal.n

ancient gyptian

opular ythology

the hrew as

losely ssociatedith

the

chneumon.he hrewepre-

sentedheblind spect f a solar eity

whose omplement,ndowed ith

keen

yesight, asunderstoodo be

the

chneumon.gypt as wo

pecies

isoften epictedn the

papyrushicke

pursuingirds. heanimal'srue abi

tats, owever,re hrubby

errain,

rocky ills,

nd heopen reas tthe

edges fEgypt'sultivatedand.

Ichneumon

ill nakesndmice nd

are

ometimesamed ndkept or

thispurpose.

hisbronzechneumo

strides etween

WO

small

eatedats,

. . .

.

suggestlngrellglous

onnectlon

to deities

esidingn the"cat ity,"

Bubastis.

hegoddessfBubastis,

Bastet, as ometimesdentifiedith

Wadjet,oddessf Lower gypt,o

whom he

nscriptionn thebase f

the chneumonigures

addressed.





4Se Cat

Saqqara,tolemaic eriod, 04-30

B.C.

Bronze

hollow, ast n two parts); . II in.

(28cm).HarrisBrisbane

ick Fund, 956

(56.I6.I)

The

earliest gyptianatswerewild

predatorshatroamedhesteppes nd

marshesno. 7). In the

refined rban

culture f the New

Kingdom atsbe-

came

ncreasinglyttachedo humans,

whoprobablyirst

appreciatedheir

mouse-huntingkills utsooncame o

enjoy

hese reaturesspleasantom-

panions

roundhehouse.Egyptian

house

atswere onsiderablyarger

thanmodern

omesticatedats,which

zoologists elieve riginatedn the

ancientNearEast.

Ofthese hree at

figures,he two

from

he LatePeriodonvey he cat's

companionable,ttractiveersonality.

The arge ignified

tolemaicigure-

amasterpiecef bronzeasting- once

served s

a containerora catmummy.

Burialsf mummified

atswerepart

of rituals erformedn

honorof the

goddessBastet.All three

nimals re

characterizedssacred y

thejewelry

incised r carved round

heirnecks.

Thelargebronze atand

he small

faience

newear laborateollars ith

pendantsn theshape f

a beneficial

eyeemblem,wedjat,

hile hesmall

bronzeat's

wedjat

endant angs

fromasimple hain.The

arge at's

right ar s piercedoholda gold

ring,

now ost.

46. Cat

LatePeriod,

Dynasty 6-29, 664-380B.C.

Bronze solidcast); .Il3M6n. (4.7 cm).

Gift

of J. Lionberger avis, 966 (66.I23.2)

47 Cat

LatePeriod,Dynasty

6-29, 664-380 B.C.

Faience; . IM6n. (2.3 cm). Bequest f

Mary

AnnaPalmerDraper,9IS (I5.43.26)

41



48. CobraHeads

Left:LateDynasty

8,

ca.

400-I300 B.C.

Faience;.

g4

in.

I0.8

cm).Giftof Helen

MillerGould,

9I0

(IO.I30.2S84).

Right:

Thebes, alley f theKings,

omb f

AmenhotepII,Dynasty

8,

ca.I3S3

.C.

Faience;. S6 in.

S 3

cm).

Purchase,

Edward.

Harkness ift,

926 (26.7.II22)

In the tomb

of Tutankhamun

gilded

wooden hrine hielded

he canopic

chest

ontainingheking's rgans.

he

shrine

toodunder protective

an-

opy,

alsoof gildedwood,

guarded y

four igures fgoddesses. othcanopy

andshrinewere

urmountedy cav-

ettocornices

ecorated ithcontinu-

ous friezes f cobra

igures. hecobras

were f

gildedwood nlaidwith

richly

colored

lass nd aience. oliddark

blue

nake eadswere astenedo

the

tongue-shapedpper ndsof the

cobra

bodies seedrawing

elow).The

monumenttruck

HowardCarter,

excavatorf

Tutankhamun'somb,as

"so

ovely hat t madeonegaspwith

wonder ndadmiration."

These wocobra eads f

shinyblue

faiencewere

originally artof similar

tomb urniture.

hesmaller f thetwo

headswas ound n the

tombof Tut-

ankhamun'sncestor

menhotepII.

It

indicateshat

Amenhotep'surial

onceboasted nequally

tunning

monument.

Detail roma

cobra rieze rowninghe

canopic hrine f King

Tutankhamun

(ca.

327 B.C.). Drawing y Barry

Girsh

42



49.

Cobra n

PharaohXsorehead

Deir

l-Bahri,

emple f

MentuhotepI,

Dynasty

I, late eign

f

MentuhotepI,

ca.

040-20I0

B.C. Painted

imestone;

stone .

9%2in.

24 cm).

GiftofEgypt

Explorationund,

906

(06.I23I.37)

Cobras,

hebest

known

fEgypt's

many nakes, realsoamonghemost

impressive.heir

aised

hreat

osture

and he

way

someof the

species

pit

venom

are

horoughly

ntimidating.

The

ancient

Egyptians

ere o

fasci-

nated

by

thesebehaviors

hat

hey

adopted

he

cobra sa

mythical

nake.

The

uraeus, s

t

was

called

n

Greek,

saton

the

foreheads

f

pharaohsnd

guardedhe

roofsof

holy

shrineswith

.

. .

.

awe-lnsplrlng

aggresslveness.

This

fragment

rom

he

mortuary

temple f

King

MentuhotepI

shows

the

uraeus bovehe

pharaoWs

ore-

head

wistingts

body

aroundhe

diadem

s f it

were

iving.

Although

only

one

Egyptian

obra

pecies,Naja

nigricollis,ather

han

hemore

om-

mon

N. haje,

ctuallypits,

both his

behaviornd

he

threat

osture

were

ascribed

o the

mythical

raeus.

AMiddleKingdomaleconveys

the

terror

gyptians

elt

whencon-

fronted

y

dangerous

nakes.

Accord-

ing to

the

story,

sailorwas

stranded

ona

deserted

sland.

After

ating is

fill of

fishand

vegetables,hich

were

plentiful

here, e

made n

offeringf

thanks o

the

gods orhis

survival.

Just hen,

ashe

narrates,

e

heard

"thundering

oise

and

hought,It s

the

sea.'Trees

plintered,

he

ground

trembled. ncovering yface, found

it

wasa

snake

hatwas

coming.He

wasof

thirty

ubits

about °feet];

his

beard

wasover

wo

cubits 3M2

eet]

long.His

body

was

overlaid

ith

gold;his

eyebrows ere

of realapis

lazuli.He

was

bentup in

front....

I

wason

my belly

before

im."The

story

nds

happily,

owever,

ith he

snake

elping he

sailorO get

home.





50. Falcon

ProbablyromHeliopolis, ynasty

0,

reign f

NectaneboI,

60-343 B.C.

Graywackeinscribedn the

basewith he

king'sames);.

28%8

in.

72

cm).Rogers

Fund,

934 (34-2-I)

The

ancientEgyptianselievedheir

kingwas

an incarnationf thesky

god,Horus,whoappearedsa falcon.

Oneof the mostpotentmages

expressinghisbelief s

this alcon

statue f KingNectanebo

I, with ts

intense

acial xpressionndvicious

claws. n

their epresentationsf

HorusEgyptianrtists

epicted gen-

eralizedalcon, ather

hananyone

particularpecies, ven houghEgypt

is home o several. he

Lanneralcon,

Falco

iarmicus,nd heperegrine,

E

peregrinus,orexample,tillnest

andbreed n the

imestone liffsat the

desertmargin nd n the

ruins nd

pyramids. he birds anbe seenris-

ing onupdraftsf hot

desert ir

andperformingmazing

erobatics.

The

sculptureollowshe Late

Period

radition fanimalmagesn

hardstoneseeno. 5)with

remarkably

naturalisticetailsnheadand eet,

while hebody

andwings re impli-

fiedrenderings

f the bird's atural

features. heimage f a birdand

royal igure

ogether anbe read s a

rebus or

Nakhthorheb,heEgyptian

form f oneof

theking's ames:NakAt

from hescimitarhekingholds;

hor,

thebird; ndheb the east), he

sign

in theking's

ighthand.

SI. Swallow

Ptolemaic eriod, 04-30 B.C.

Limestone;

h. 3 /G in. (9.4 cm).RogersFund, 907

(07.228.g)

The inear asisalong heNile

that s

Egypthasalways

ada richvariety f

smallbirds,

ncludingwallows.Mi-

gratorywallows

romnorthernlimes

pass hrough gyptduring hespring

and all,whereas

ther pecies re

year-roundesidents. he

swallow's

migratoryabits

were arefully

observed y theancientEgyptians

and nterpretedsa signof

regenera-

tion.In an

ancientovepoem he

swallow, hoheraldshe

morning,s

encounteredy

a youngwoman e-

turning roma trystwithher

over:

Thevoiceof theswallows speaking.

It says:

Daybreaks, hat s your

path?

[Thegirlanswers:] on't, ittlebird

Areyouscoldingme?

I

foundmy over n hisbed,

And

myheartwas weet o excess.

In Egyptian rt he

ndividual

members f theswallowamilywere

not

differentiated.his imestone

relief resents truly

ovablemage f

thebird, tanding n

well-articulate

legswithan expression

hat s both

comical nddignified.

he piecebe-

longs o

a group freliefs ndsculp-

tures

hathaveoftenbeen dentified

as

sculptors' odelsbecausemany

of them nclude rid inesandother

traces f theartist's

echnique. he

raised ngleplate n theuppereft

corner,

orexample,mightbe an item

of thiskind.

Inrecent imes,

however,most

scholars refero

interpretheseob-

jectsas

ex-votos, rvotive bjects, nd

in this

case, he mage f theswallow

mighthavebeendedicatedo thesun

godor

the goddess sis.The bird s

closely onnected ith

bothdeities.

45



52. Vulture ndCobra

Ptolemaic

eriod, 04-30 B.C. Lime-

stonerelief; . 6Ysn. (I7vS

m). Gift of

J. PierpontMorgan,9II (II.Ii5.I2)

Like hefalcon, hevulture,

Egypt's

largest ird, iveshigh

n the ime-

stonecliffsandsoars

ver he desert

andalluvialand n search

f food.

Ancient

rtists epicted oth he grif-

finvulture,

Gypsfillaus,nd, essoften,

the lapp t- aced ulture

Aegypiusrv-

cheliotus,s ncarnationsf Mut,god-

dessandconsort f Amun,and

Nekhbet,

oddess f the royal rown

of UpperEgypt.Thevulture'sead

andwings

erved s nspirationor he

headdressf Egyptian

ueens, nd

images f

the majestic irdadorned

the ceilings

f temples ndpalaces.

In this

reliefNekhbet s a griff^ln

vultures

the heraldicigure f Upper

Egypt, eadinghe cobra,

whichrep-

resents ower

Egypt.Thevulture

nd

theserpent othappear

o standon

46

wicker

askets, utthisshould

not be

takeniterally. he baskets re

hiero-

glyphic igns or

"lord"r "lady,"nd

thewholeconfiguration

dentifieshe

twocreaturess

neby,

he"twoadies."

The

ladies n question re he

titular

goddesses f Upper

ndLowerEgypt,

whose

names repartof every ha-

raolfs

name.This s another xample

of Ptolemaic

elief laqueshat

erved

either ssculptors'

odels r asvotives

(see

no.SI). Thisplaques also

carved

on the reverse, here he mage f a

falcon ppears.

53 Hoopoe

Dynasty

9,

ca.

295-II86 B.C.

Drawingn

papyrus;. ofpapyrus4S8 in. 36

cm).Gift

of Edward. Harkness,93s35.9.I9)

The Egyptian

oopoe,Upupv epops,

with ts colorfuleathering

ndbeau-

tifulheadcrest,s stillcommon n

Egypt. n the

Old Kingdom oopoes

were aught o

be pets orchildren.n

the papyrus rawinghe bird

itsatop

a stylized apyrus(?)lantand s iden-

tified n the accompanying

extas "he

whosemagics hidden."

his s an

aptdescription

f Nineteenth ynasty

Egypt ollowedhepractice

eported

frommuch ater

imes,whenparts f

the bird's ody theheart,

head,and

blood played

role nmagicprac-

tices third oeighth entury.D.).



54. Bee

Lisht

South,pyramidempleof

Senwosret,

Dynasty2, reign

of Senwosret, ca.

97I-

I926 B.C. Detail

roma paintedimestone

relief; . of bee6S4

in. (I6 cm).

Rogers

Fund, 909

(09.I80.64)

This

beautifularved

mage f a bee

functioned sa

hieroglyphicdeogram

for"thekingof

LowerEgypt."Origi-

nally, t

waspartof a

monumentaln-

scription

dorninghepyramid

emple

of King

Senwosret.

The Egyptian

honeybee,Apismellifica

asciatv,was

domesticatedn

EarlyDynasticimes,

if

not before.

Beeswereusually ept

in

terracotta

ipes hat erved s

bee-

hives,

whichwere

tackedn rowsone

above heother.Afterdriving ut the

beeswith

smoke,much

as beekeepers

do today, he

farmersemovedhe

honeycombsnd

extractedhe

honey,

which,

alongwithdate

mash,was he

.

. .

.

maln

weetenern

anclentlmes.

Beeswax asalso

an important

ub-

in thisrelief

laque,s aresident f

Egypt.

tnests n

trees,buildings,

nd

ruins

ndhuntsby

night.The bird's

. * * r

most

cnaracterlstlceature,

tS mpres

sive

acial isk, nvariably

rompted

Egyptian rtistsochoose

frontal

view

when

representingt. Therelief

belongs o thesame

group f objects

as the

swallow elief nd he

vulture

andcobra

iece nos.Stand 2).

As is

thecase or

therestof thegroup, ts

interpretations still

under

iscussio

Is t a

votiveobject r

a sculptor's

model? s an

ex-voto, he mage f

an

owlmight

appropriatelyavebeen

dedicatedo asolar

eity.Owls,

called

"keen-sightedunters," ere

also

believedo bebirds

fmourning

nd

death.As amodel, hisrelief emon-

strateshe

most ntricate art

of the

letter

m (acomplete

wl),and n

fact

owls

arerarely

epictedn Egyptian

art

except s this

hieroglyphicign.

stance,

idely sedn adhesives,

metal

asting,ndother

rocesses.

55.BarnOwl

Ptolemaic eriod, 04-30

B.C. Limestone

relief; . 4/6

in. (I0.4 cm).

RogersFund,

I907

(07.228tII)

Thebarn

wl,Tyto Iba,

whose ead

is depicted

ithunforgettable

larity

47



56.

Fly

Dynasty6-29, 664-380

B.C.

Faience(?);

. 7/6 in. I.2

cm).

Bequest

f MaryAnna

Palmer

raper,9I5 (I5.43.47)

s7

Flies

Left:

Dynasty

3-I7,

ca.

783-I550

B.C.

Ivory;. 7/6

in. 6.3

cm).Purchase,

dward

S. Harknessift,

926

(26.7.I285).

Right:

Early ynasty8,

ca. 550-I525

B.C.

Glazed

steatite

inscribed

n underside

orQueen

Ahhotep);

.

2

in.

I.3

cm).

Giftof

Helen

MillerGould,9I0

(IO.I30.I68)

58. Mosquito

Deity

Dynasty6-29,

664-380

B.C.

Green-and-

whitebanded

asper;

.

%6

in. 3 cm).

Gift

of Cyril

Aldred,9 5 5 (55.I72)

TheflywhiskshatEgyptianrtists

depicted

n the

hands

f pharaohs

nd

nobles

repotent

eminders

f how

irksome

hehosts

of flies

weren an-

.

.

.

clent

Egypt.

Theanclent

Egyptlans,

however,eemed

o have

held

lies n

highesteem,

resumably

ecause f

this

nsect'sowers

f fast

reaction

and

ndomitable,

nsistent

resence.

Beginning

n

Dynasty8

(ca.550-

I295 B.C.),

fly pendants,

ften

made

of

gold,weregivenby the kingasmili-

taryawards

orvalor,

nd

heamulets

shown

maywell

be reminders

f the

official

old

"medals."he

glazed

steatite

ly s

inscribed

nthe under-

sidewith

hename f

Queen

Ahhotep,

mother

f kingsKamose

nd

Ahmose,

who

finally

efeatedhe

Hyksos.

Earlier

lyamulets

mayalsohave

erved

toward ff

theseannoying

nsects.

The

actuallies

represented

n these

amulets re

difficult,

fnot impos-

sible, o

identify

yspecies.

Among

the nsects

hownhere,

hesteatite

and aience

ieces

reunmistakably

flies,and

hesomewhat

arger

vory

piece eems

o be a

stylizedly,

proba-

blya replica

f thegolden

ward

pieces.

The green-and-white

asper

insectooks

more

ikea mosquito

thana

fly.Whatever

ts identity,

his

jasper

mulet as

afalcon

headand

wears he

double

rown

fUpper

and

LowerEgypt.

n this

guise he

n-

sect

hasbecome

deity

with

royal

attributes.

Evidencef

mosquito

etsbeing

used

tronglyuggests

hat

mosquitoe

were

smuch

anuisance

n the

ancien

world s they

canbe

today.

heGreek

writer

Herodotus,

ho traveled

n

Egypt

n about

45-440

B.C., reporte

that

people

used ishing

netsagainst

mosquitoes,

hile

n Upper

Egypt

they lept

on high

owers

perhaps

meaning

heroofs

of multistory

houses).Anactualrame osupport

fine inen

netting

vera

bed,made

longbefore

he

timeof

Herodotus,

was

oundwith

he burial

quipment

of

Queen

Hetepheres,

other f

Khufu

ca.

55I-2528

B.C.).

48



59. Scarabs

Left:

LateDynasty2-early

Dynasty3,

ca.

800-I750

B.C.

Glazedteatitescroll

motif n underside);

.Y8n. 2.2 cm).

Purchase,

dward. Harkness

ift,

926

(26.7.7I3).

Right:

Dynasty

9,

ca.

295-

II86

B.C. Glazed

teatiteenigmaticnscrip-

tionon underside);

.

3/l6in. (I.7

cm).

Purchase,dward. Harkness ift,

926

(26.7.352)

The

importancef the

scarab,cara-

Z *

* TN *

.

baeussacer, n

anclent egyptlan

re 1-

gionwasbased

n carefulbservation

and nterpretation

f itsbehavior. he

scarab

eetle ollsanimal

ung o

formballs hat

areoftenmany imes

its size.The scarab

oth eeds rom

theseballsand

ayseggs n them.

For

theEgyptianshe mage f thedung

ballmovedby

thescarab'strong

ind

legs

became metaphor

or herising

sun,

and hebeetlewasadopted

s

oneof the most

potent ymbols f

resurrectlon.

Starting

nthe early

MiddleKing-

domandcontinuing

hroughout

he

restof pharaonic

istory,mages

were

engravednto

the undersidesf

scarab

amulets,

hich ould hus

be usedas

seals.

To be readily nd

quite iterally

at hand,

carabsuchas

thesewereper-

foratedorizontallynd

itted sbezels

into rings f gold

or otherprecious

metals.

60. Beetle

Ptolemaic

eriod, 04-30

B.C. Bronze;

h. 23/8n.

(6 cm).Purchase,

dward .

HarknessGift, I926 (26.7.855)

Thisratherinister

orned reature

seems o

representhe rhinoceros

beetle,

Orystesascicarnis,

hich s

native o the Mediterranean

egion.

The smallbronze

arcophagushat

it guardsncehelda beetle

mummy,

thoughnot necessarily

f the same

species.n embalmingeetles, s

in all animal

mummification,

he

Egyptiansf the

LatePeriod nd

Ptolemaic nd

Roman imesgave

tangible

orm otheirbelief

hatall

animals,arge nd

small,were ncar-

nations f the divine.

Religiousexts

fromEgypt ndparallels

romother

African

ultures,moreover,ndicate

that nsects

ouldbe understood

s n-

corporating

n"external

oul,"mean-

ing those nner orces fhumans nd

deitieshatarecapable f

leavinghe

body. n

an OldKingdomext, or

example,hekingwassaid

o ascend

to heaven

n theformof a grasshopp

49

v r: u

. . , . # ^ .

;

a i 5

r * . 0 ;<;:

i

k





6I. Stablewith

Fattened onghorns

Westernhebes,

omb f Meketra,

arly

Dynasty

2, ca.

990-I980 B.C. Gessoednd

painted

ood; .

852

in.

(72.s m).Rogers

Fund

ndEdward. Harkness ift,

920

(20.3.9)

*

.

The anclentEgyptlans

erevery uc-

cessful

attlebreeders.n

their ociety

andeconomy attleplayed nimpor-

tantrole,and

numerousarieties

ere

raised.

omewere ong

horned nd

long

egged;heygrazed

n the open

countryn

herds omprising

any

hundredsfanimals

nd,underhe

careof

attentive

erdsmen, ere

movedrom

place o place

ccording

to aseasonal

chedule.Others

ad

longhorns nd

short egs;often

cas-

trated,hey

were aised nd

attened

instables.Therewerealsovarieties

with

shorthorns,nohorns, r

artifi-

ciallydeformed

orns, swellas

zebu,

anAsiatic x

importedrom he

Levant

during

Dynasty8 (ca.

55O-I295 B.C.).

Inthis

miniature

epresentationf

astable, wo

compartmentsre

con-

nectedby a

door. n the back oom,

which n real ife

probably adaroof,

three attleand

a calf orhornless

cow)are eeding

romalong

rough,

while n

the other

ompartment,

most

ikely nopen

courtyard,wo

cattle

re edfroma heap

offodder.A

guard, rmed

witha spear,itsbythe

entranceo the

courtyard.he

black,

brown, nd

spotted attle revery

sturdily

uiltandclearly

attened.

The

stablewasoneof

twenty-two

miniaturesoundwithtwo argetat-

uesof

women na small

hamberut

intothe rock n

the tombof thechan-

cellorMeketrat

Thebes Luxor).

Theyhadbeen

untouchedince he

dayof

theirburial. Thebeam f

light

shot ntoa little

worldoffour

hou-

sand ears go,"

wroteMuseumurator

Herbert

.Winlock,who

discovered

this

cache n oneofarchaeology's

ost

memorable

oments.

62.

Farmer lowing

Early

ynasty2, ca.

990-I900 B.C.

Painted

ood; .

952

in.

49-S

cm).Gift

of

Valdemarammer

r., nmemoryf

his

father,

936 (36.S)

which s

pulledby two

very riendly

looking xen.

The farmer'seethave

sunk ntothe

muddy arth,which s

probablytill

waterloggedrom

he

annual

nundation, utthe

animals

seem o be on

dryer round. o

own

cattlewasa sign

of highstandingora

peasantn

ancientEgypt; low

oxen

usually

ad o be rented

roma large

stateortemplenstitution. ven f the

oxenwerenotactually

wnedbythe

plowman,

owever,n

exceptionally

strong ond

couldexistbetween

man

andanimals.

taleof theNew

King-

dom

ellsof ayoungman

whoworked

on his

olderbrother'sarm nd

ived

socloselywith

hecattle hathe

could

understandheir

anguage.When

the older

brotheret out

to killthe

younger, ecause

he elder's ife-

as thewifeofPotiphar hadaccused

the

younger rotherftryingo

seduce

her, hecattle

warned im n time

or

himtoescape.

Thepeasant

rudges ehind he

tradi-

tional

hook-shapedlowof

Egypt,

51



63. FightingBulls

Dynasty

9-20,

ca.

295-I070 B.C.

Painting

on imestone;toneg4 X 49%6in. I8.5 X

II.5

cm).Rogers und,

924 (24.2.27)

By allowing ulls o fight,Egyptian

herdsmenoulddetermine hichwas

the stronger ndconsequently ore

suitableorbreeding. ulls ighting,

therefore, asa frequent ccurrence

among he herds.ForEgyptian rtists

the fightswere nterestingubjects.n

thistrial ketch, he draftsmanap-

tured moment f highdrama.One

of the powerful easts as hrown he

otheronto ts front egs o attackts

abdomenwithpointedhorns.Both

bulls rehighly gitated;heir ails re

tenselyurved,hey redefecating,

and hevisible yeof theattacking

bull s turned pward.

Wildbulls till oamedhemargins

of theDelta n theNewKingdom,

andKingRamessesII ca.I84-

II53 B.C.)

felled ome normousndi-

vidualsn a reed hicket,ccordingo

a depictionnthepylon f hismortu-

ary emple tMedinet abu, hebes.

64.

Resting attle

Dynasty

6-29, 664-380 B.C.

Gold;

1. (each)2 in. (I.25 cm).TheodoreM. Davis

Collection,Bequest f TheodoreM. Davis,

I9I5 (30.8.405, .406)

These mall hort-hornedovines

seem o be resting, hewingheir ud.

Thehollow igures eremadebyham

mering heets f gold o form he ani-

mals'bodies, dding hehorns nd

feet,and using hewholeontosmall

ovalbaseswithnotched dges.As

two of seven elestial owswho pro-

vidednourishmentor hedeceasedn

the beyond, he ittleanimalsmay

havebeenpartof a richperson'suria

equipment,dorning pieceof jewelr

or an elaborateessel.

52



66.

Apis Bllll

Dynasty6-29,

664-380 B.C.

Ivory

base

modern); . 2X6 in.

(6.I

cm). Gift of

J.

PierpontMorgan,9I7 (I7.I90.62)

One of

themost mportantnimal

deities

f ancientEgyptwas he

sacred pisbull,

whoseworships

attestedromDynasty

.

Near he

Ptah

emple t Memphis, gypt's ld

capital, living epresentative

f the

Apisbullwas

tabled.He wasparade

r

. .

..

out attestlve

ccaslonso partlclpate

in

ceremoniesf fertility nd

regener

ation.

The bull hatplayed his

m-

portant

olewas electedor

displayin

colorpatterns,uch

as a white riangl

on theforeheadnd

blackpatches

resembling inged

birds n the body.

In the vory igure

hewhite riangles

indicated y a

sunken rea n the

head,while

engravingsf avulture

with

wings pread nda wingedcara

flank n

elaboratelanket n the

back

When

Apisbullsdied, heywere

embalmedndburiedwithall

honors

Beginning ith he

reign f King

AmenhotepII n

Dynasty8, the

placeofApisburials

asa hugeand

growing ndergroundystem f

chambersalled he

Serapeumn the

Memphite ecropolis,aqqara.

he

mothers f Apisbullshad heir

own

cultandburial

lace.

65. Bllll's Leg

Abydos,

Dynasty-2, ca.2960-2649

B.C.

Ivory; . 6/2 in. (I6.S

m);RogersFund,

I906 (06.II62.I)

In EarlyDynastic

gypt owbedsand

stools,

ikeother urnituref

high

quality,ncluded

voryparts uchas

bulls'egs.Usingananimal'segfor

the eg

of a pieceof furniture

adreli-

. . * n *

*

glOUSlgnltlcance

elatlngo thegreat

strengthnd

generativeower f the

animal. he bullwas

alsoasymbol

for he

Egyptian ing,especiallyn

the Early

Dynastic eriod, nd

royal

furniture aywellhavebeen he

first

to be fittedout with

such egs.

Inmaking etsof

legs,Egyptian

artists lways

istinguishedindand

forelegs, ftenalso he rightand

eft,

and

positionedhemon the

pieceof

furniture

ccordingly.s seenhere,

the egshad enons

n top that it

into he

horizontalrame f the

bedor

stool.Leatherhongswere

hreaded

through

hetwoholesbelow he

tenon

to secure

he egto the frame.Allfur-

niture egs nbull's-leghape

ermi-

nated n beaded

ylindershatkept

thetender ooves ffthe dirty loor.

This

eR ront egfroma bed

or

stool s theworkof amaster

oiner

whowasalsoan

accomplishedculp-

tor.Theanimal's

usculaturend

skinare

delicately ifferentiatedrom

thesmooth

hoof,and hetautveins

are xpressivenough oevoke hrough

thisbodypart he mage

f theentire

strong, ighlyensed nimal. he eg

maywellhave

beenpartof a king's

bedor chair ecauset was

oundat

Abydosn one

of the tombsof the

firstkingsofEgypt.



67. Donkey

Deirel-Bahri, rea f causeways, ynasty8,

ca. 473-I425 B.C.

Drawing n limestone;

drawingX6 X 2%8

in. (6.3 X 6.7 cm). Rogers

Fund, 923 (23.3.8)

Sinceat least he

fourthmillennium

B.C.,

ever-patientonkeys ave ar-

riedheavy oadsandhelped armers

by treading

eeds nto the ground nd

threshing rain.The artistwho cre-

ated hissmall

haractertudyovera

proportional

ridon a limestone hip

hascapturedhe expressionf a typi-

callyobstinate onkey. round he

donkey'seck sa red triped and.An

animalwith

black tripedur(a cator

leopard?) as

drawn elow hedon-

key's ead o the right,butthemain

portion f thiscreatures nowbroken

oS. It appears

hat he sketch omes

froma largermage llustratingfable

involving n ass

anda feline.Onesuch

story rom hesecond entury.D. tells

of a lionwhowants o findout the

nature f man.Amongotheranimals,

the ionencounters horse nddon-

key hatare

etheredo a chariot. he

lionasks,"Whodidthis o you?" hey

answer, Ourord,man,hasdone

it.... There s nothingmore unning

54

thanman."

Wilddonkeyswere till

living n the

Egyptian esert uring

thefirstpart

of thenineteenthentury.

68. Headof

a Camel

Thebes,LowerAsasif emetery rea,

Ptolemaic

eriod, 04-30 B.C. or later.

Terracotta ith

whiteslip;h. IlS6 n. (Scm).

RogersFund,

932 32.3.343)

The ancientEgyptians newabout

the existence f the dromedaryor

one-humped)amel,Camelusrome-

darius, t

least inceEarlyDynastic

* 9 , .

. * 9

tlmes. n

varlous gyptlan ltesrare

instancesf camelboneshavebeen

recorded,lthoughomearedoubtfu

as to dateand dentification,nd

there re

a fewfigurines nd igure

vessels f camels reservedrom

pharaonicimes.Byand arge, ow-

ever, hecamel emainedn oddity n

Egyptianyes. t wasonlywith he

invasion f theAssyrianrmy n the

seventh

entury

.C.

thatpeople n the

Nilevalleymetthe camel sa domes-

ticated

east f burden.t tookanothe

fourcenturieso introducehedomes

ticatedamel o Egypt,where t was

destinedo become ne of the coun-

try'smost

amiliarights.Onlyrecentl

have

automobilesnd armmachines

begun osupersedehe animal.

This

small erracottaead s un-

pretentiousutskillfullymodeled. t

is the iving mage f a camel,head

helddisdainfullypright,hepro-

truding yesgazing nto the fardis-

tance,while he softmuzzle eemsO

be caught

n a chewingmotion. t

mightbe

a portrait f one of the

camels f

today,whichcanbe seen

lifting heirheads ver armhouse

wallsnear

he exact potwhere his

little erracottaiecewas oundby

the Museum'sxcavatorsn I9IS-I6.



horse ormed he op of a comb, ts

teethnowmostlymissing. hishorse

is somewhat ervouslyeeding roma

trough. n the drawing, fewmas-

terlybrush inescapture n elegant,

well-groomedorsewearing bridle,

rubbingts eftforeleg layfully ith

its gracefulmuzzle. he motif s

known roma lateDynasty

8

relief

fromAmarna.t is possiblehat his

sketch s a copyof a New Kingdom

representationhat nterestedhispar-

ticular rtist t a timewhenmany

Old andNew Kingdom orks f art

were opied orreuse n Dynasty 6

tombs.

The argervoryhorse,whichonce

adorned whiphandle,s shown n

what cholarsall heflying allop. ts

shiny oat s beautifullyendered ith

a lightbrown int; he mane, ail,

muzzle, nd ower egs,aswellasa

stripe n the back, re n darkbrown.

The efteye

till

retainsts glassy

inlay,whichbeautifullyapturests

shining agerness.heanimal'sead

pressesgainstts curved eck,a pose

oftenused n depictions f horsesn

the mid-Eighteenthynasty.

69. Horse

Dynasty9, possibly eignof

RamessesI,

ca. 279-I2I3 B.C. Ivory;w. I%8in. (3-5 cm).

Purchase, dward . HarknessGift,

926

(26.7.I290)

70. Horse

Thebes, ombof Nespekashuty,ynasty6,

664-6I0 B.C. Drawing n limestone;

rawing

4 X 3 in. (I0.2 X 7.6 cm). RogersFund, 923

(23.3.33)

7I. Horse

Thebes,Dynasty8, ca. 400 B.C.

Tinted

ivory, lass(?)nlay n left eye;1.SYgn.

(IScm). Purchase, dward .

Harkness

Gift, 926 (26-7-I293)

Thehorse s a relativeatecomer

o the

Egyptianmenagerie.heearliestkele-

tonfound n theNile valleymaydate

to theseventeenthentury.C. In

ancientiteraturendrelief rt,horses

firstappearedn connection

ith he

expulsion f theAsiatic ulers,

he

Hyksos,whichoccurredromhe ate

Seventeentho theearlyEighteenth

Dynasty ca.

SSo B.C.).

After

he de-

featof the Hyksos he horse-drawn

chariot ecame hepredominant

fightingmachine f Egypt's ilitary,

theofficial onveyancef her

kings,

andan efflcient ehicle orhunting.

Horsebackiding, owever,emained

a rarity ntilPtolemaicimes.

These hree epresentationsapture

thetraits he ancientEgyptians ost

valuedn a horse: peed, legance,

andgoodmanners. hesmall vory

55



This

magnificent

am,

with tsbril-

liantblue-and-green

laze,was

made

late

n thehistory

fEgyptian

rt. t is

said

o havebeen ound

n the

capi-

tal of

theFayum

asis,Crocodilopol

(Medinet

l-Fayum),

ogether

with

twobeautiful

aience

masksn Roman

style.All three bjects eremostprob

ably

otiveso

a sanctuary.

Theram

anbe identified

s

Ovis

platyura

egyptiaca,ased

nthe for-

ward-bending

orns

nd hick

leece.

Thespecies

was irst

ntroducednto

Egypt romwestern

sia

around

000

B.C. Duringhe

OldKingdom

nd

earlier,

nother

heep pecies,

O.

Iongipesalaeoaegyptiaca,

as

ivingn

theNile

valley. his

species

ad ong,

horizontallypiralingorns see ig.

)

and

ent ts powerful

hape o

a num-

ber

of Egyptian

ods, he

creatorod,

Khnum, eing

perhaps

he most m-

portant

f them.

Probably

ecause .

platyuraad onger

leece, t

quickly

superseded

.

Iongipesfterhe

begin

ningof the

MiddleKingdom.

The

platyuraambecame

ne

of

the

mostsacred

nimals

n Egypt

through

ts association

ith he

god

Amun,who,asAmun-Re, as he

country's

upreme

eity

duringhe

New

Kingdomnd

afterward.

his

faience am

sbending

tS headover

what

at firstglance

eems

obe a

manger,

uton

closernspection

s

actually

lotusblossom.

Vessels

n

flower orm

were requently

sed o

present fferings

o gods.

Amun

receiving

n offiering

sthus

he true

subject f this aiencemasterpiece.

skygoddess

Nut was

describeds

a

sow

whose hildren

ere

hestars.

he

fact

hat ows

areknown o

eattheir

piglets

wasunderstood

s aparallel

to the rise

anddisappearance

fstars.

Amulets

ike he

one llustrated

ere

were

epresentations

f the

great

mother oddess ndguaranteed

fertility.

The ittle

wooden igure

f a young

pig

s simplybut

carefully

ade. ts

round

head,

nubnose,and

he black

stripes

long ts back

are he

unmis-

takable

haracteristics

f the suckling

pig,object

f the

herdsman's

are.

The figure

was ound

at the

mouthof

the plundered

omb

shaft

of Yuy,

great

manandvizier,

who ived

at the

endoftheMiddleKingdom.tis

diffilcult

o explain

he

pig's resence

among

burial

quipmentt

a time

whenwooden

models

f peasants,

stables,

ranaries,nd

he ikewere

no

longer

n fashion.

Yuy's

ombwassit-

uated

where

QueenHatshepsut

ater

erected

he causeway

o her

emple f

Deir

el-Bahri.

t ispossible,

herefore,

that

he ittle

pigfigure id

not belong

to

Yuyat all but

wasa poor

man's ift

to Hathor

fDeir

el-Bahri,

hose

shrine

esideHatshepsut's

emplewas

much

visited

hroughouthe

New

Kingdom.

74.

Ram

Medinet

l-Fayum,

Roman mperial

eriod,

probably

ndcentury

.D. Faience;

.41M6n.

(I2

cm).Purchase,

dward . Harkness

Gift,

I9 26 (26

.7.

OI9)

72. Sow

Amulet

Dynasty6-29,

664-380

B.C.

Faience;

h. %6

in.

3

cm).GiftofJ. Pierpont

Morgan,9I7 (I7-I94-2243)

73. Young

Pig

Westernhebes,ound earhe omb f

the

vizierYuy,

ateDynasty3(?),

a. 700-

I650 B.C.

or

ater.Wood

withreddishrown

andblack

aint left

egmissing);.%6

in.

(4

cm).Rogers

und,926 (26.3.352)

Pigswere

domesticated

nEgypt

rom

a wildspecies,

us scrofa,

before

he

fifth

millennium

.C. During

phara-

onictimes,pork

wasone

of thestaple

foods,and

pigswere

kept n herds

n

every

argearm, ften

grazing

n the

open

steppe.Pigs

werenot

highly e-

garded, owever,

nd hose

who

tended hem

were eviled

s dirty,

l-

though

n Old

Kingdom

ombrelief

shows herdsman

ovingly

eeding

a small

pigfrom

hisownmouth.

The

taboo

npigmeat

volved

lowly,nd

associations

ith he

evilSeth

not-

withstanding,

igsalsohad

a favorable

role o play n

Egyptian

myths.The

56



andwatchdogs,tatus

ymbols, nd

companions.bout

eventy ogname

areknown

rom exts nd

nscription

Theybear trikingesemblanceothe

names

ivenmodern ets from

Ebony,Blacky, nd

Trusty

O

Son-of-

the-Moon,

orth-wind,

ood-for-

Nothing, nd,more

imply, he Fifth

orThe Sixth.The

earliest reed see

no.

2)

haduprightars nda

curled

tail.A later reed ad

op ears nda

straightail.There

wereotherkinds,

including

typeofdachshund.

Thissmall,

rouching og s a fine

example f theEgyptian rtist's

bility

tO

convey nanimal

hrough few ea-

tures. tsheavy ead

rests ightly n

paws olded ver ach

other:hepic-

tureof a

faithful ogawaitingts

mas-

ter.Many

dogburialsavebeen

ound

in Egypt,

omewithstelebearinghe

animal's

ameorwitha

sarcophagus

andat leastone

Eighteenth ynasty

leather

ogcollar assurvived.

7S

Pharaohis untingDog

LateDynasty

8, I400-I350 B.C. Ivory,

tinted

ed nsidemouth nd

black round

eyes nd nundersidesf pawstailmissing);

. 73/8 in.

I8.6

cm).

Rogers und,

940

(40.2.I)

This

eaping og s a

masterpiecef

Egyptian nimal

culpture.t is

shownn a sort

of

grandete',

ts full

body

weight hrown

orward,very

muscle training. ecause

he ower

jaw

canbeopened nd

closedby

means

f the everunder he

belly,

thepiecehasbeencalled mechanical

toy.

There re,however,

erious eli-

gious

mplicationso the mage f a

leaping og.Theartist's

ketch no. 2),

forexample,hows dog n

an almost

identical ose

beside hepharaoh s

he

fights lion,which, n

thiscontext,

embodies vil

orces.Associationsf a

leaping ogwith

hepharaoWsythi-

calroleas the foe

of chaos ndevil

suggesthat he vorypiecewaspart f

royal urial

quipmentnd unctioned

as amagical

bject. f this sthe case,

judging rom ts strikingly

aturalistic

style, t most

ikelybelongedo the

burial

f AmenhotepII.

Theexceptionaliece

howsun-

mistakableignsof analterationhat

took

place nantiquity,

robably

shortly

fter heworkwas inished.

Based

n thenonalignmentf

the

linesof

the dog's ncised ollar,

n ad-

ditional rillhole

underhe hroat, nd

thepresencef twosetsofcavitiesn-

side he

upper aw o

accommodate

theprotruding

ower ront eeth, t ap-

pearshat he aw

everwasoriginally

fixedowerdown

on the chest.The

artist r

hisclientdidnot ike heorig-

inal hape f the

mouthandreposi-

tioned t,after

whichhe had o drilla

new

hole n theneckanda

newcavity

in theupperaw.

Thedrillholesprob-

ably erved s

channelsorastring hat

controlledheangle

f themoveable

* * * *

* .

aww

nen t was n ltSopenposltlon.

76.

Crouching og

Dynasty

8, ca. 550-I295 B.C.

Ivory;

. 3 1%6in.

(9.7

cm).

Gift of HelenMiller

Gould, 9I0

(IO.I30.2520)

Egyptians ere losely

ttachedo

their

dogs,which erved s

hunting

57



77. Mouse

Dynasty8,

ca. 550-I295 B.C. Ivory;

. 2%6 in. (6.5cm). Rogers

Fund, 9

(44M4M55)

78. Rat

or SpinyMouse

Western hebes,

Dynasty8, ca. 473-

I458 B.C.

Drawing n limestone; tone6X4

31%6

in.

(I7

X IO

cm).AnonymousGift,

93I

(3I *4 2)

It is not clearwhichmouse

or rat

species heartists ad n mindwhen

theycreated

hese svorepresenta-

tions.The

ratof pharaonicgyptwas

the grass

at,Arvicanthisiloticus ilo-

ticus.Thehouseratarrived

romAsia

after he

pharaoniceriod.Two

species f micedating opharaonic

timeshavebeen dentified

romani-

malbones:he Egyptian

pinymouse,

Acomysahirinus,nd he

house

mouse,Mus

musculus.he spiny

mouse sa scrubby-looking

reature

known ohave ivedon

the rocky

island fElephantinen greatnum-

bers,while hehousemouse,

which

hasa smooth oat,preferred

he Delta

margins. he small xquisite

vory

piece,which s hollowed n one side

to serve s

a cosmetic ish,mayrepre-

79. (Opposite

op)Vesseln the

Shape f a Monkey

Dynasty

8,

ca. 550-I295 B.C. Faience;

h.

2 7/6

in. (6.5cm). RogersFund, 974

(I974-97)

At leastone species f

monkey,Cer-

copithecusethiops,urvivedn the

wild n ancientEgypt ntil heMiddle

Kingdom,

utmonkeys avealso

always een

mportedromEthiopia

andSomalia

ndkeptas entertainin

companions,specially

y the adies

of thehouse. n wallpaintings nd

elsewhere

onkeys redepictedn the

lady's oudoir, laying

s sheput

on hermakeup. hey

arealso hown

busily"helping"

o harvest atesand

figs.Thenaughtymonkey eenhere

maywellhave tolen he

fruithe is

eatingduringucha harvest.

Not surprisingly,any

osmetic

vesselswere

adorned ithmonkey

figures.

Not onlydid theseamusing

creatures

avort round he dress-

ing room,buttheyalso

came rom he

same xotic ountrieso the south

thatproduced

many osmeticngredi

ents.Interestingly,

onkeys erealso

employedspolice"dogs"n ancient

Egypt.Old Kingdom eliefs

how

vivid cenes f thieves

eingcaught

by the clever nimals.

senta housemouse,whereas

he

masterly

rawing n limestone ould

be a spinymouseor a grass at.The

drawing

s on the reversef a sketch

showing

woprofiles fSenenmut,

therenownedteward

f Queen

Hatshepsut, aking his

an early

examplef the artof political

caricature.

58



8I. Vessel n the Shape f a Mother

Monkeywith HerYoung

Dynasty , reign f Pepi , ca.2289-2255 B.C.

Egyptian labasterinscribed Ny-Khaswt-

Meryre female]enant andholder"of the

pyramid ndowment f Pepi ] and "first

occurrencefthe jubilee");. 5X8 in. I3.7 cm).

Purchase,osephPulitzer equest,Fletcher

Fund,andLilaAchesonWallace,Russell

andJudyCarson,WilliamKellySimpson,

andVaughnFoundationGifts, n honorof

HenryGeorgeFischer,992 (I992.338)

The two monkey asesbeloware n-

spired y keenobservationf animal

behavior,n thiscase heclose elation-

shipbetweenmothers nd heir oung

amongprimates. othvesselswere

madeduring he SixthDynasty,most

likely sgifts

ordignitariesnd oreig

rulerstthe

king'shirty-yearestiva

(Heb ed).Themonkeysre dentifie

aspetsby heir raceletsndarmlets

The

vesselsre lmostdenticaln

subjectnd ompositionutremark

ably ifferenttherwise.hepiece

beloweft shighlytylized,

tS

overal

shapescylindrical,ndalldetailsre

reducedo nearlylat elie£ heother

piece no. I) iS more rganicallyon-

ceived,gg

hapedverall, ith he

details

culptedn theround.t cap-

tures n

almost umanntimacyn

thepose f themotherndbaby.n

ancient gyptianrt, t is rareo be

able o

distinguishndividualrtists'

hands sclearlys n thesewoobject

79

80

80. Vessel n the Shape f a Mother

Monkeywith HerYoung

Dynasty , reignof Merenre, a.2255-

2246 B.C. Egyptian labasterinscribed ith

the nameMerenre); . 7S4 n. (I8.5 cm).

TheodoreM. OavisCollection,Bequest f

TheodoreM. Oavis,

9I5 (30.8.I34)



82.

Baboon-Shaped

ame

Pieces

Ptolemaic

eriod,

04-30 B.C.

Ivory.

Left:

h. I%8in. (3-S

cm). Ludlow

Bull

Fund,

968

(68.3).

Right:h. I%6

in. (3.3 cm).

Purchase,

Fletcher

undand

The

GuideFoundation

Inc.

Gift, 966 (66

99X7S)

These

wo ittlebaboons

epresent

n

imported

pecies,

Papionubis,

hat

lackshe

magnificent

ane

f 1?

hamv-

dryas.he

figures

remasterful

nimal

. .

depictions,

omblning

recise

na-

tomical

endering

ith

expressive,

almost

atirical

haracterization.

ince

theback

of the

figure n

the right

is shaped

ike

a knuckle

one,

hetra-

ditional

orm

of dice

n theancient

world,

t is

likely

hatboth

animals

werepiecesroma game.Stylistically

they

are o close

o one

another

hat

they

mustbelong

o the

same et,

al-

though

hey

came

o the

Museum

at

different

imes.

By

the Ptolemaic

ra,many

Egyptians

ere

iving

n cities, ome

of which

were

quite arge

ndcosmo-

politan,

s

wasAlexandria,

hat

ancient

equivalent

f New

York.

heminor

artsof the

timeoften

reflect

n

urban

lifestylendasomewhatentimental

and

condescending

ttitude

oward

nature.

he two

baboons,

ear

arica-

tures

f two ittle

beggars,

regood

examples

f this

outlook.

The artist

whosculpted

he

figures

ada

dis-

cerning

ye

hat

wassurelynfluenced

bythe

Hellenistic

radition,

hich

s

reflected

n the

ntricate

ostures

f

the thin

animal

odies.

83. Baboon

Memphis(?),

ynasty

6, 664-S2S

B.C.

Faience;

.

3X6n. (8.8cm).

Purchase,

Edward .

Harkness

Gift, I926

(26.7.874)

Egypt's

esident

pecies

f baboon,

Papio

amadryas,

anished

rom

he

wildduring

he

Middle

Kingdom,

about he same ime hat hemonkey

alsodisappeared.

hereafter

aboons

continued

o

be imported

rom

he

south.

They

were

onsistently

epicted

as

essplayful

nd

more erious

han

thewhimsical

monkey.

s far

backas

Early

Dynastic

imes

he ancient

Egyptians

enerated

he

baboon sthe

"great

hite

one,"which

has

been

called

royal

ncestor

nimal.

Based

onobservationsf theactual ehavio

of

baboons,he

Egyptians

elieved

that hese

primates

orshipedhe

sun

godat

sunrisewith

upraised

rms

r

hands

ntheir

knees,

postureshat

have

beenexplained

y

primatologis

asthe

animal'seed

o

warmts

body

in

themorning.

hehands-on-knee

posture

ound

ts most

mpressive

artistic

ealization

n large

aboon

sculptures

reated

uring

hereign

f

AmenhotepII(ca.

390-I353 B.C.).

The

baboon's

ntelligence

nd

enigmatic

aze

inked

t to

Thoth,

thegod

ofwisdom,

esponsible

or

measuring,

riting,

nd

generally

ll

things

ntellectual.

his

faience

tat-

uette

s arepresentation

f the

deity.

Many rtists

tudied

ndrevived

lder

artistic

raditions

uring

Dynasty

6.

Itis entirely

ossible,

herefore,

hat

the

Arnenhotep

IIbaboon

culpture

were he ultimateource fthis

small

but

mpressively

tatuesque

masterpiece.

60



Late

Predynastic eriod,

ca.

3200-2960 B.C.

Dynasties and2,

ca.

2960-2649 B.C.

Dynasty3,

ca.

2649-2575B.C.

-

_

Theart

ofEgyptiannimal

epresentation

_-

latePredynastic

eriodnd

hefirst wo

_

x

dynasties,nimalepresentationsere

_ widely

sed o express

heoretical

oncepts

_

suchaskingship r the

powers f

theuni-

verse.At this

ime, he

Egyptiansormu-

_

lated

heirhieroglyphiccript,

goodpart

ofwhich

scomposed f

animalmages.

Animals

were endered ore

bstractlyhan

heywould

be ater nd

can

usually e

identified y

genusbutnot by

species.Many

mportant

images f deities

n animal

hapes egan o receive

efinitive

orm,

process ompleted

y Dynasty

.The

conographyf types hus

created

would

ontinueo be used n

much ater

periods.

Nos.

I, I3,

39

Nos. 49, 50, 52,

54

Dynasty ,

ca.

2575-2465.C.

Dynasties

and6,

ca.

2465-2I50

.C.

Thesecond

hase fanimal

epresentation

began n

Dynasty and

reached n unsur-

passed eak n

Dynasty .Egyptian

rtists

revealedheir

utstandingbilities

o

observe ature

losely nd

depict tpre-

cisely.

oday's

oologistsan dentify

almostvery pecies f

fish, owl,or

horned teppe

nimal een n

paintings

andreliefsrom

heperiod.

he ncentive

for

his

naturalismame rom

hebelief

that

hesungod,

assupreme

reator,ared orevery

iving hing,

ach

in its

particularorm nd

ize. n art,

hesolar reed

oundts

most

potent xpression

n theFifthDynasty

untemples

tAbusir,ust

outh

ofpresent-day

airo.Preserved

nly n

fragments,eliefs

rom hese

temples

evealedn minute

etail he iving

worldunder

hesolar

deity'sutelage.

ach nimal

was hown n activities

ppropriate

o the

three

easons fthe

Egyptianear.The

nfluence f these

un-temple

reliefss apparent

n allanimal

epresentationsf

the Old

Kingdom

and n

many aterworks f art.

No. 2

61

A

Brief

History f

Anilnal

Representationn

Egyptian rt



Firstntermediate

Period,

a.

I40-

2040

B.C.

MiddleKingdom,

ca.

040-I640

B.C., to

early

ew

Kingdom,

ca.

SSO-I400

B.C.

_

_ =

_

importance

f Memphis

modern

Mit

_

Rahina,

outh f Cairo)

nd ts

royal es-

_

idence ave

way otheprovlnces,

nd

a

markedlyessimistic

hilosophy

evel-

_i

representation,

hich oincides

ith

the

MiddleKingdom

ndearly

New

Kingdom,

rovincialism

nspired

nascent

olkart,and he

prevailing

pessimism

ave ise

o a multitude

f magical

racticesor

whichmany

new

ypesof

objectswere

reated.

Often olkartand

conography

ith

magical

ignificance

ingled

n MiddleKingdom

nimal

igures, hile

high-quality

uxury rticles

ublimated

hese

haracteristicsnto

fine

works f art.

Royal emple

nd omb

reliefs, owever,

ere argely

influenced

y Old

Kingdom

rototypes.s the

thirdphase

apped

ver

into

heearly art

f theNew

Kingdom,

many harming

nimalmages,

often

more ntimate nd

eleganthan

hoseof

theMiddleKingdom,

were reated.

Nos.

6I, 62, 73

Nos.38, 39, 4I, 59

No. 34

Nos. 6, I7,

27

Nos.

25, 49

Nos.3, 9, 20,

35, 37, 39,

42, 57, 7I,

76, 77, 78,

79

Amenhotep

II,

ca. 390-I353

B.C.

Akhenaten,

ca. 353-I336

B.C.

_

A revivalf

solarworship

shered

n

_ the

fourth hase

f theartof

animal

representation.

he

new ntensity

n

theworship

f the

sungodstarted

ur-

ing thereign

f Amenhotep

IIand

reached

peak

whilehis

son

Akhenaten

asking.

Artisticallyhis

phase ndudes

many

parallelso

theaccomplishments

f Old Kingdom

rtists.

natomicaletails,

doselyobserved

ndprecisely

endered,

ereagain

rimaryoncerns.

Therewasrenewednterestn the concept f time,expressedotonly

in representations

f seasonalife

but n the

artists' ttempts

o cap-

ture

a passingmoment

yshowing

he

effects f gentle

windsblowing

overplants

r by

freezingnimals

n motion.

Stylisticendencies

uch

as

these ent

hemselves

ostreadily

o painting,

ndeven

beforehe hird

phase adended,

here

were xamples

f thiskind.

Many ine

drawings

made n the

earlyEighteenth

ynasty

nticipatehe

achievements

f

artists uringAkhenaten's

eign.

Smallculptures

n

the round

wereanotherpecialty

f the

ate hird

and ourth

hases,

choing n urban,

uxury-oriented

ifestyle

hat

re-

sulted n a

more entimental

elationship

etween

umans nd

animals.

Many

f thesmall-scale

nimaligures

ere

nfluenced

y arge ard-

stoneanimal

culpturesreated

orroyal

monuments

uchas

themor-

tuary

emple fAmenhotep

IIat

Thebes r,

n Nubia,

hetemple t

Soleb.Literary

orks,

uchasa text

on a large carab

escribing

oyal

hunting

eatsor the

famous

ymns o the

godAten,underlined

he

m-

portance

f animals

n thestatedeology

f the

time.The

mmense

unt-

ing

bootygenerated

ythefamed

ourt

huntsof the

New Kingdom,

incidentally,

ayhave

givenartists

he chance

o study nimal

odies

directly.

Nos.

4, 6,

IS,

24,

26, 48

75

No. 7s

No.

24

Nos. 35,

67, 78

Nos. 3, 4,

75

62





In-depth

tudies n the

ubjectf animals

n

Ancient

gypt annot

eundertakenithout

consulting

hearchive

yLudwig eimer-

largely

npublished

nowhousedn the

German rchaeological

nstitute,

airo. he

numerousrticles

yKeimerre

istedn

Joachim oessneck,

ie Tierweltesalten

AgyptenMunich,

988), pp. I9I-92.

Anderson,

ohn.

oology f Egypt.Vol.,

Reptilia

andBatrachia.ondon,

898; repr.

965.

Anderson,ohn,

ndWilliam .

deWinton.

Zoology fEgypt:Mammalia. ondon,

902.

Andrews,arol.

muletsfAncient

gypt. exas,

I994-

Assmann,an.

Agyptische

ymnen ndGebete.

DieBibliothek

erAltenWelt.

Zurichnd

Munich,

975.

Beaux, athalie.

e Cabinet u

curiosite'se

Thoutmosis

II:Plantes t animaus

u 'CJardin

botanique"de

arnak.Orientaliaovaniensia

Analecta

6. Leuven,elgium,

990.

Boessneck,oachim.

ie TierweltesAlten

Agypten ntersuchtnhand ulturgeschicht-

licher nd

zoologisheruellen.Munich,

988.

Brewer,

ouglas.,and

ReneF.Friedman.

ish

andFishingn Ancient

gypt.Cairo,989.

Fairman,.

W.TheTriumphant

orus:

n

AncientEgyptian

acred rama.Berkeley

nd

LosAngeles,

974.

Faulkner,

aymond.

TheAncient

Egyptian

Cog7in exts.vols.

Warminster,ngland,

I977-

. TheAncient

gyptianyramid exts.

Oxford,969.

Gamer-Wallert,ngrid.

ische nd

Fischkultem

altenAgypten. ol.

I.

Agyptologische

Abhandlungen.d.WolEgang

elck nd

Eberhardtto.Wiesbaden,

970.

Hery,

ranc,ois-Xavier,ndThierry

nel.

Animaux

u Nil Animaux

e Dieu.

L'Univers

e 'Egypteharaonique.ix-en-

Provence,

993.

Hornung,

rik, ndElisabeth

taehelin.

Tiere."

InSkarabden

ndandere iegelamulette

us

Basler ammlungen:

gyptischeenkmdler

n

derSchweiz. ol., pp. I06-63. Mainz,

976.

Houlihan,

atrick.

TheBirds fEgypt.

Warminster,ngland,

986.

zu

HulshoK,era on

Droste.

erIgel m alten

Agypten.Hildesheimergyptologische

Beitrage

I.

Hildesheim,

980.

Janssen,osalind,nd

ack anssen.

gyptian

Householdnimals. hire gyptology.

Aylesbury,ngland,

989.

Lexikon erAgyptologie.

vols.Wiesbaden,

Germany,975-92.

Lichtheim,Miriam.Ancient

gyptian iterature:

A

Book f Readings.

vols. Berkeley, os

Angeles, nd

London,973-80.

Malek, aromir. heCat n Ancient gypt.

London,993.

Meinertzhagen,

ichard.

NicollsBirds fEgypt.

vols.

London,930.

Page ,

"Beetlesn all kindsof wood":

fter an

Assmann,

Agyptischeymnen

ndGebete,

p.

203.

Page , "'This

s the tasteof death"':

ichtheim,

Literature,

ol.

,

TheOldandMiddle

Kingdoms,

. 224.

Page

I, "Ahunterpursues

t with his hounds":

I

ichtheim,Literature,ol. 2,

notedabove,

p. I87.

Page

6, "who eesand

catches y night":

Raymond

O. Faulkner, heAncient

gyptian

CofinTexts,

ol.2, Spells3Sy-787)

- 05,

spell 70.

Page I, "granthe beauteous

West:n peace":

Jaromir

Malek,The

Cat n Ancient gypt,

p. 86, fig.53;

translation yJames

Allen.

Page 4, "From

ourbeauty 'll not

part ":

Lichtheim,

iterature,ol. 2,

notedabove,

p. I90.

Page 4, "As

bold fen-man oes":

H. W.

Fairman,

heTriumphantorus,

. 82, verse

8I-83

and 0-92.

Page

5, "Their rms dore

ourappearance":

Lichtheim,

iterature,ol.2,

notedabove,

P- 97-

Page 8, "when

he riverbanks re

looded":

Faulkner,

heAncient

gyptian yramid

ext

p. 235, utterance

8I; translation

yJames

Allen.

Page 8, "Who

makeshisbounty

overflow":

Lichtheim,

iterature,

ol. , notedabove,

pp. 205 and

07.

Page 3,

"Iwason my bellybefore

him":

Lichtheim,

iterature,ol. ,

notedabove,

p.

2I2.

Page

5, "Andmy heart

wassweet o excess":

Translation

y James

Allen romPapyrus

Harris 00.

PageSI,"little

worldof four housand

ears go"

HerbertE.

Winlock,Modelsf DailyLife

n

Ancient

gypt, . 3.

Page

SI,"so hathe could

escape": ichtheim,

Literature,

ol.

2,

notedabove,pp.204-6.

Page

4, "Theres nothing

morecunning

han

man":GuntherRoeder,Alt2gyptische

Erzahlungen

ndMarchen, . 308.

Page

8, Ratorspinymouse:

The animal

n the

reverse f the

Senenmut straconacc.

no.

3I.4.2)

hasbeen dentified

yJacques .

Janssen s

a fox ("On he Scentof a Fox"in

Discussions

n Egyptology6 [I990],

pp.

43-SI),

butthe ong

anddensewhiskers,

elongated

muzzle, nd

hin tailarenot

those

of a fox. Dale

J. Osborndentifies

he anima

as a rodent,quitepossibly

spinymouse

(Warminster,

ngland,orthcoming).

Phillips,

DorothyW.,Ancient gyptian

nimals:

A Picture

ook.NewYork TheMetropolitan

Museum f Art), 942.

Roeder,

Gunther.Altagyptische

rzahlungen

nd

M2rchen.ena,Germany,927.

Rommelaere,

atherine. esChevaux

u nouvel

empire gyptien: rigines,

aces, arnache-

ment.Conaissancee l'Egypte

ncienne

Etude .

Brussels,99I.

Schoske, ylvia,

nd DietrichWildung.

Gottund

Gotterm

altenAgypten.Mainz,992.

Winlock,

HerbertE.

Models f DailyLife n

Ancient gypt

rom heTombfMeket-Re

t

Thebes. ublications

f TheMetropolitan

Museum

f ArtEgyptian xpedition.

ol. 8.

Cambridge,Mass.,955.

Notes:

Page , "no cene n the

tombcontained

ny

such igure":

erbertE. Winlock,

"The

Egyptian

xpedition,922-I923," The

Bulletin fTheMetropolitan

useum

fArt 8

(oldseries,December923),

part , p. 2I.

Page

, "indicated ith

a fewswift trokes

f

black":Winlock,"The

Egyptian xpedition,"

notedabove,p. 34.

Page , "Beetlewho raised

imself":Miriam

Lichtheim,

ncient gyptian iterature,

ol. 2,

TheNewKingdom,

. 87.

64

Selected

General

ibliography



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Desert Art