Relief of a Hippopotamus
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
On View: 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
This relief fragment presents a female hippopotamus in connection with "The Feast of the White One," a feast that dates back to the Old Kingdom (Dynasties III–VI) but whose meaning is still not clearly understood. The animal seems to be a manifestation of either a deity associated with fertility or protection or possibly a deity localized in Lower Egypt. She stands on a stylized baseline, behind which 15 a papyrus column. Below are the hieroglyph for "festival" and traces of another, indecipherable hieroglyph. In the completed scene the animal would have faced a figure of a king presenting offerings.
MEDIUM
Gypsum or gesso gypsum
DATES
ca. 589 B.C.E.–570 B.C.E.
DYNASTY
Dynasty 26
PERIOD
Late Period
DIMENSIONS
5 11/16 × 6 1/2 × 1 5/16 in. (14.5 × 16.5 × 3.4 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
67.175.2
CREDIT LINE
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is on view on the 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
CAPTION
Relief of a Hippopotamus, ca. 589 B.C.E.–570 B.C.E. Gypsum or gesso gypsum, 5 11/16 × 6 1/2 × 1 5/16 in. (14.5 × 16.5 × 3.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 67.175.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.67.175.2_wwg8.jpg)
IMAGE
installation, West Wing gallery 8 installation, CUR.67.175.2_wwg8.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
