The Art of Ancient Egypt | Publications for Educators | Explore & Learn

hunting_dog.jpg (39779 bytes)

Ivory hunting dog
Late Dynasty 18, 1400-1350 B.C.
Ivory, tinted red inside mouth and black around eyes and on undersides of paws, l. 7 1/8 in.
Rogers Fund, 1940
40.2.1

Leaping forward toward its prey, this hunting dog has arched its front paws for the attack. The muscles of the front legs are tensed and those of the hind legs are stretched out in preparation for a push-off from the ground. The dog can actually be animated by working a lever under its belly that causes its jaws to open and close.

The carver has transformed his keen observations of dogs in action into an elegantly finished ivory figure, small enough to hold in one's hand. It is indeed a handheld object, since there is no indication of an ancient attachment to a base. The hound's tail (now missing) would have completed the graceful, curving outlines. It seems unlikely that such a finely made piece would have been a child's toy, since ivory was a luxury material. In scenes on temple walls and on works of royal art, the king was often shown with his hunting dog, who would leap to his assistance when the king was hunting a lion. The image is a symbol of the king's bravery and his vital role as the foe of chaos represented by the lion. Perhaps this hunting dog was placed in a royal tomb where it was meant to magically assist its owner in the afterlife.

Notice: action, material

Discuss: muscles, outlines, mechanical device, symbolism

Compare: Cat and Hippopotamus

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