Schilbe Fish of Hatmehit
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
Fish mummies were among the first kinds of animal mummies created by the Egyptians. The shilbe fish was associated with the goddess Hatmehit, whose name means “chief of the fishes.” And the tilapia fish represented fertility. Nevertheless, royalty could not eat fish, as the working class did, because according to myth, fish nibbled at the body of the drowned Osiris before his resurrection in the next world.
MEDIUM
Bronze
DATES
664â30 B.C.E.
PERIOD
Ptolemaic Period to early Roman Period
DIMENSIONS
2 1/2 x 1/2 x 3 in., 0.2 lb. (6.4 x 1.3 x 7.6 cm, 0.08kg) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
05.573
CREDIT LINE
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Schilbe Fish of Hatmehit, 664â30 B.C.E. Bronze, 2 1/2 x 1/2 x 3 in., 0.2 lb. (6.4 x 1.3 x 7.6 cm, 0.08kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 05.573. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum (Gavin Ashworth,er), 05.573_Gavin_Ashworth_photograph.jpg)
IMAGE
profile, 05.573_Gavin_Ashworth_photograph.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph (Gavin Ashworth, photographer), 2012
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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