Stela with Image of Seth
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
On View: 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
As early as the Predynastic Period (before circa 3100 B.C.) Egyptian artisans represented the god Seth as an enigmatic animal. Scholars have attempted to associate this animal with the ass, the oryx, the greyhound, the camel, the okapi, the aardvark, the giraffe, and the boar. None of these associations, however, seem plausible. In all probability the Seth animal docs not represent an actual living species. Rather it was a creation of the Egyptian imagination.
MEDIUM
Slate
DATES
ca. 664–30 B.C.E.
PERIOD
Late Period to Ptolemaic Period (probably)
ACCESSION NUMBER
16.580.187
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Green slate, round topped stela. At left, incised, standing figure of Anubis with ankh in right hand and scepter in extended left hand.
Condition: Lower right corner missing. Small chip on left side.
CAPTION
Stela with Image of Seth, ca. 664–30 B.C.E. Slate, 3 7/16 x 2 7/8 in. (8.8 x 7.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.580.187. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 16.580.187_NegA_print_bw_SL4.jpg)
IMAGE
front, 16.580.187_NegA_print_bw_SL4.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2023
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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we welcome any additional information you might have.
On another note, what animal is Seth's head?
We're not actually sure. Seth is often pictured with the head of something that looks like a dog, or jackal, but a little different. Many scholars just refer to it as the Seth animal.
