Figure of baboon on a basket and with a pillar, the shebet offering
The mummiform baboon squats on a basket with a pillar behind him. The nature of this object is still under discussion. The image of the baboon might allude to the god Thoth. Only rarely do we know the archeological context to which these objects belong, but a few of them are known to come from an area in Saqqara near one of the main ibis cemeteries. Another example arrives from Hermopolis, one of the main sites in which Thoth was celebrated. In imagery, however, it is mostly kings who are represented offering an object in this form and mostly to goddesses.
Artwork Details
- Title: Figure of baboon on a basket and with a pillar, the shebet offering
- Period: Late Period–Ptolemaic Period
- Date: ca. 664–30 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Faience
- Dimensions: H. 12 × W. 4.6 × D. 9.1 cm (4 3/4 × 1 13/16 × 3 9/16 in.)
- Credit Line: Bequest of Nanette B. Kelekian, 2020
- Object Number: 2021.41.129
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
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4th century B.C.
360–343 BCE
ca. 872–664 BCE
664–525 BCE
332–30 BCE
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