Model of a Cow Giving Birth
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.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.
Animal husbandry, a valuable source of food, was a popular subject for scenes decorating the tombs of officials. However, considering the prevalence of birth and rebirth imagery in Egyptian funerary art, it is perhaps surprising that only four Middle Kingdom tombs preserve images of cows giving birth. Three-dimensional representations, like this model, are equally rare. Here, a man stands in front of the cow while a second herdsman catches the calf emerging from its mother.
Animal husbandry, a valuable source of food, was a popular subject for scenes decorating the tombs of officials. However, considering the prevalence of birth and rebirth imagery in Egyptian funerary art, it is perhaps surprising that only four Middle Kingdom tombs preserve images of cows giving birth. Three-dimensional representations, like this model, are equally rare. Here, a man stands in front of the cow while a second herdsman catches the calf emerging from its mother.
Artwork Details
- Title: Model of a Cow Giving Birth
- Period: Middle Kingdom
- Date: ca. 2030-1640 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Wood, paint
- Dimensions: 8 1/2 × 18 9/16 × 7 in. (21.6 × 47.2 × 17.8 cm)
- Credit Line: Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art