<em>Baboon</em>, ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E. Ivory, 1 1/4 x 2 11/16 in. (3.1 x 6.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.123. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.36.123_erg2.jpg)

Baboon, ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E. Ivory, 1 1/4 x 2 11/16 in. (3.1 x 6.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.123. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.36.123_erg2.jpg)

<em>Baboon</em>, ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E. Ivory, 1 1/4 x 2 11/16 in. (3.1 x 6.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.123. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.36.123_NegA_print_bw.jpg)

Baboon, ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E. Ivory, 1 1/4 x 2 11/16 in. (3.1 x 6.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.123. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.36.123_NegA_print_bw.jpg)

Baboon, ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E. Ivory, 1 1/4 x 2 11/16 in. (3.1 x 6.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.123. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.36.123_NegB_print_bw.jpg)

Baboon, ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E. Ivory, 1 1/4 x 2 11/16 in. (3.1 x 6.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.123. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.36.123_NegC_print_bw.jpg)

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Baboon

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

Many small ivory and faience baboons have been found in Middle Kingdom tombs. Some scholars believe they functioned as gaming pieces. Others argue that because images of baboons often appear on other protective objects, the figures served as eternal guardians of the deceased.

MEDIUM Ivory

Place Made: Egypt

DATES ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E.

DYNASTY Dynasty 12 to early Dynasty 13

PERIOD Middle Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 1 1/4 x 2 11/16 in. (3.1 x 6.9 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 36.123

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

PROVENANCE Archaeological provenance not yet documented; by 1936, acquired by Garrett Chatfield Pier of Connecticut; March 6, 1936, purchased at the Anderson Galleries, New York, NY, “The Garrett Chatfield Pier Collection of Egyptian Antiquities,” lot 68, by the Brooklyn Museum.

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EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Baboon, ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E. Ivory, 1 1/4 x 2 11/16 in. (3.1 x 6.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 36.123. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.36.123_erg2.jpg)

IMAGE overall, CUR.36.123_erg2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 10/27/2008

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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