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Feeding Calves

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

One of the most unusual scenes of daily life from el Amarna, this block depicts a herdsman thrusting his hand down the throat of a tethered cow. He may be force-feeding the animal or helping it digest its food. Above the cow we can see traces of three more animals and, at the far left, part of a much larger bovine, perhaps the mother cow.

MEDIUM Limestone, pigment
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS
DATES ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E.
DYNASTY late Dynasty 18
PERIOD New Kingdom, Amarna Period
DIMENSIONS 9 1/16 x 21 1/4 in. (23 x 54 cm)  (show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER 60.197.4
CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Limestone relief. In sunk relief to the right, four oxen behind support (?) of a shelter. Seated male attendant feeding (? forcibly) the front ox and holding the lead ropes. At extreme left, hind quarters and tail of standing ox. Wig of man black, his body and oxen a brown-red. Condition: Edges chipped. Paint worn.
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
CAPTION Feeding Calves, ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E. Limestone, pigment, 9 1/16 x 21 1/4 in. (23 x 54 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 60.197.4. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.60.197.4_wwg7.jpg)
IMAGE installation, West Wing gallery 7 installation, CUR.60.197.4_wwg7.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2005
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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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