Hippopotamus
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
On View: Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
The standing hippopotamus represented Seth, the brother of Osiris who murdered him and then claimed his throne. It was thus a symbol of chaos. Egyptians controlled negative forces in the tomb by including a hippopotamus with the legs purposely broken. The lotus flowers drawn on its flanks reflect the animal as it would be seen standing in the Nile among the natural vegetation.
MEDIUM
Faience
DATES
ca. 1938–1539 B.C.E.
DYNASTY
Dynasty 12 to Dynasty 17
PERIOD
Middle Kingdom to Second Intermediate Period
DIMENSIONS
4 5/16 × 2 15/16 × 7 3/16 in., 2 lb. (11 × 7.5 × 18.3 cm, 0.91kg)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
86.226.2
CREDIT LINE
Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Faience statuette of standing hippopotamus. Head frontal and slightly lowered, feet parallel, tail in high relief. Glazed blue, now largely turned green. Decorations on manganese of lotus flowers and buds arranged in conventional pattern. Rosette (lotus in top view) on each buttock. Lotus leaf on each side of head.
Glaze on left side of body badly worn. Right ear chipped. Chips on jaw (each side). Minor chips on body.
CAPTION
Hippopotamus, ca. 1938–1539 B.C.E. Faience, 4 5/16 × 2 15/16 × 7 3/16 in., 2 lb. (11 × 7.5 × 18.3 cm, 0.91kg). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.226.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.226.2_PS2.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 86.226.2_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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Why are the legs broken off?
Hippos are one of the most dangerous creatures in Egypt. They hide in the water and can rise up and capsize a boat suddenly. They are also violently protective of their young.
Ancient Egyptians would break the legs of a hippo sculpture and place it in the tomb, in order to remove the threat of dangerous and chaotic animals in the afterlife!
Why is the hippo blue?
The blue color was associated with the marshes where the hippos lived, and where life is said to have originated according to Egyptian mythology.
