Relief with Crocodile and Fish
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.
Crocodiles, abundant in ancient Egypt, were depicted in a variety of guises: as deities combining human and animal aspects and as magical, protective creatures whose threatening nature was controlled. The crocodile on this relief fragment, probably from the decoration of an elite tomb, represents a potentially dangerous animal in its native, marshy environment. Lurking beneath a papyrus boat, it has just caught a walking catfish between its sharp, protruding teeth. The main scene above likely depicted an elite family hunting fish or fowl, leisure activities that were also symbolically connected to fertility and the maintenance of order.
Crocodiles, abundant in ancient Egypt, were depicted in a variety of guises: as deities combining human and animal aspects and as magical, protective creatures whose threatening nature was controlled. The crocodile on this relief fragment, probably from the decoration of an elite tomb, represents a potentially dangerous animal in its native, marshy environment. Lurking beneath a papyrus boat, it has just caught a walking catfish between its sharp, protruding teeth. The main scene above likely depicted an elite family hunting fish or fowl, leisure activities that were also symbolically connected to fertility and the maintenance of order.
Artwork Details
- Title: Relief with Crocodile and Fish
- Period: Middle Kingdom
- Dynasty: Dynasty 12
- Date: ca. 1981-1919 B.C
- Medium: Limestone, paint
- Dimensions: 11 1/4 × 28 15/16 in. (28.5 × 73.5 cm)
- Credit Line: Anonymous lender
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art