Figure of Monkey Seated on Ovoid Base
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Object Label
Throughout Egyptian history, monkeys were enjoyed for their playful, whimsical behavior. This blue faience example holds a ball or piece of fruit. In antiquity, it wore a metal earring indicating that it represented a household pet. Because they had to be imported over great distances at considerable expense, the possession of monkeys indicated the owner’s wealth and social status.
Caption
Figure of Monkey Seated on Ovoid Base, ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E.. Faience, 2 1/8 × 1 1/8 × 1 9/16 in. (5.4 × 2.8 × 4 cm) mount: 2 1/4 × 1 3/4 × 1 3/8 in. (5.7 × 4.4 × 3.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 48.181. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 48.181_PS2.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Title
Figure of Monkey Seated on Ovoid Base
Date
ca. 1352–1336 B.C.E.
Dynasty
late Dynasty 18
Period
New Kingdom
Geography
Reportedly from: Tell el-Amarna, Egypt
Medium
Faience
Classification
Dimensions
2 1/8 × 1 1/8 × 1 9/16 in. (5.4 × 2.8 × 4 cm) mount: 2 1/4 × 1 3/4 × 1 3/8 in. (5.7 × 4.4 × 3.5 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
48.181
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
What makes the monkey figure such a vibrant shade of teal?
The monkey is formed out of a quartz-based paste called faience which is then glazed with mineral pigments to give it that bright blue color. It was often used as a more affordable alternative to expensive materials like the blue gems turquoise and lapis lazuli. It was the mix of certain pigments with copper, exposed to very high heat, that reacted and turned such a vibrant blue. And this color signified health and life to the ancient Egyptians like the Nile River and similar to the green of vegetation!
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