Relief of a Hippopotamus

This relief fragment presents a female hippopotamus in connection with "The Feast of the White One," a feast that dates back to the Old Kingdom (Dynasties III–VI) but whose meaning is still not clearly understood. The animal seems to be a manifestation of either a deity associated with fertility or protection or possibly a deity localized in Lower Egypt. She stands on a stylized baseline, behind which 15 a papyrus column. Below are the hieroglyph for "festival" and traces of another, indecipherable hieroglyph. In the completed scene the animal would have faced a figure of a king presenting offerings.