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Figure of a Shrew

Ptolemaic Period
304 B.C.–30 B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 134
"The voracious" was the ancient Egyptians'name for the shrew, an epithet that aptly describes the feeding habits of this tiny animal. In ancient Egyptian mythology the shrew was closely associated with the ichneumon. The shrew represented the blind aspect of a solar deity whose complement, endowed with keen eyesight, was understood to be the ichneumon.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Figure of a Shrew
  • Period: Ptolemaic Period
  • Date: 304 B.C.–30 B.C.
  • Geography: From Egypt
  • Medium: Cupreous metal
  • Dimensions: H. 3 cm (1 3/16 in.); W. 2.5 cm (1 in.); L. 9.6 cm (3 3/4 in.)
    H. (with tang): 3.9 cm (1 9/16 in.)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Darius Ogden Mills, 1904
  • Object Number: 04.2.465
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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