Predynastic Egyptian Quadruped, possibly a Hippopotamus , 5000 BC - 3500 BC
Greywacke
7.5 x 5.3 x 14.5 cm
3 x 2 1/8 x 5 3/4 in
3 x 2 1/8 x 5 3/4 in
CC.34
This intriguing figure is of a quadruped with a large ovoid body, front and hind legs (joined together in this example), and a separate head. The form may be simplistic,...
This intriguing figure is of a quadruped with a large ovoid body, front and hind legs (joined together in this example), and a separate head. The form may be simplistic, even naïve, but even in this highly abstract form it is possible to see the shape of a hippopotamus, with a large, rounded body, downward-facing head, and stocky muscular legs. The figure has a tactile form; one is almost compelled to touch its smooth rounded shape.
The figure is carved from greywacke, a variety of sandstone noted for its hardness, dark colour, and grains of quartz, feldspar and lithic fragments. Given the difficulty of carving this stone, we can presume that this item was intended for a significant purpose, perhaps in ritual. If indeed this is a hippopotamus, it fits into a long tradition of representations of hippopotami throughout Egyptian history. Hippopotami are now extinct in Egypt, but in ancient times they would have been a common sight along the banks of the Nile. Hippopotami are associated with danger; indeed, hippo attacks are responsible for more human deaths each year than lion attacks. The size and power of these creatures inspired awe among the Egyptians, and overcoming hippopotami was one of the tests of the strength of a pharaoh. Indeed the god-king Horus hunted and killed his uncle Set, embodiment of chaos and disorder, while the latter was in the form of a hippopotamus.
In a ritual setting, then, hippopotamus figures and amulets were used to ward off chaos and disaster. They were also seen as important to Egypt’s agricultural economy, given that hippopotami commonly trampled and ate grain as it grew by the riverside. But while many of their associations were negative, hippopotami were also associated with motherhood; the patron of pregnant women was the hippopotamus goddess Tawaret. This ambivalent relationship to dangerous animals is common in Egyptian myth, where hippopotami, lions and jackals were reinterpreted as the avatars of leading gods.
References: other Predynastic representations of hippopotami exist in Baltimore (Walters Art Museum 71.528; 4000 BC – 3500 BC) and New York (Metropolitan Museum of Art 03.4.1), which has similar short legs joined together as in this example.
The figure is carved from greywacke, a variety of sandstone noted for its hardness, dark colour, and grains of quartz, feldspar and lithic fragments. Given the difficulty of carving this stone, we can presume that this item was intended for a significant purpose, perhaps in ritual. If indeed this is a hippopotamus, it fits into a long tradition of representations of hippopotami throughout Egyptian history. Hippopotami are now extinct in Egypt, but in ancient times they would have been a common sight along the banks of the Nile. Hippopotami are associated with danger; indeed, hippo attacks are responsible for more human deaths each year than lion attacks. The size and power of these creatures inspired awe among the Egyptians, and overcoming hippopotami was one of the tests of the strength of a pharaoh. Indeed the god-king Horus hunted and killed his uncle Set, embodiment of chaos and disorder, while the latter was in the form of a hippopotamus.
In a ritual setting, then, hippopotamus figures and amulets were used to ward off chaos and disaster. They were also seen as important to Egypt’s agricultural economy, given that hippopotami commonly trampled and ate grain as it grew by the riverside. But while many of their associations were negative, hippopotami were also associated with motherhood; the patron of pregnant women was the hippopotamus goddess Tawaret. This ambivalent relationship to dangerous animals is common in Egyptian myth, where hippopotami, lions and jackals were reinterpreted as the avatars of leading gods.
References: other Predynastic representations of hippopotami exist in Baltimore (Walters Art Museum 71.528; 4000 BC – 3500 BC) and New York (Metropolitan Museum of Art 03.4.1), which has similar short legs joined together as in this example.