Relief fragment with two young dogs
Old Kingdom
Two puppies stand side by side with slightly lowered heads, as if hesitating to approach some problem or adversary they cannot yet handle. They must have belonged to a subregister of a larger composition-perhaps a hunt in the desert. The impression of overlap is achieved by the use of incised lines that slope up into the surface of the relief rather than by actual variations in height. This technique, used from the time of Niuserre onwards, allowed much easier execution of intricate groupings.
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