Hippopotamus

Hippopotami were associated with life, regeneration, and rebirth. When placed in tombs they were meant to supply the deceased with general regenerative power and to guarantee his or her rebirth.

This figurine was excavated by The Met’s archeologists in the 1920s and found in fragments. The burial pit, in which the pieces were found, is near houses and the archeological context of these pits is usually very disturbed. The excavators noted that several small pieces from the legs were not recovered and the legs were restored in the Museum. While there are many possibilities, this resonates with the condition in which many other hippopotami are preserved in museums. Since the ancient Egyptians feared these animals and believed that depictions could magically come alive, the legs of many such statuettes were probably purposefully broken off, to control the animal’s destructive potential. It has been questioned if the legs of many faience hippopotami were indeed broken on purpose, and the opinion was voiced that this might just be accidental damage. However this particular example here shows traces of deliberate damage to the face. Both the eyes and the nostrils were clearly targeted, to ritually kill this animal. These traces of deliberate destruction support the idea that the legs of many hippopotami figurines were purposefully broken, as both types of damages could eliminate the dangerous aspect of the animal.

Isabel Stünkel, 2017

Excavated by the Egyptian Expedition of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Acquired by the Museum in the division of finds.

Hayes, William C. 1953. Scepter of Egypt I: A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: From the Earliest Times to the End of the Middle Kingdom. Cambridge, Mass.: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 226.

1994. Pharaonen und Fremde : Dynastien im Dunkel. Vienna: Eigenverlag der Museen der Stadt Wien, cat. 6.