Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Crocodile Figurine
Middle Kingdom
Not on view
This object is not part of The Met collection. It was in the Museum for a special exhibition and has been returned to the lender.
Like the hippopotamus, the crocodile could represent either protective or negative forces. This delicately detailed figurine depicts the animal stationary but alert, reinforcing his power. On the underside are the remains of a peg, indicating that the crocodile was originally attached to another object, perhaps a large, apotropaic rod used in rites to protect vulnerable mothers and children. Such rods could be placed in small shrines in private houses as well as in burials.
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