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New Kingdom
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 119
This extraordinarily lifelike animal head was once part of a hippopotamus statue about three feet in length. Comparisons with other sculptures from the period indicate that it was created during the reign of Amenhotep III. The seated statues that the king dedicated to the goddess Sakhmet are well known; their feline heads display hollow sinewed cheeks and knobby facial bones similar to those on the hippo. This head may have come from Amenhotep's mortuary temple on the west bank of the Nile opposite modern Luxor. This temple was mostly dismantled in ancient times, but the site is marked by two colossal statues of the king known as the colossi of Memnon.
Excavators have found another, even larger, hippo statue, also of Egyptian alabaster, at the site. Together with hundreds of other sculptures—many of them representing deities in animal form—the hippos would have served in rituals procuring godlike status for the king. On the underside of the animal's jaw is an ancient drill hole. It may have been made for a metal support (the head is heavy) or for the insertion of the hook of a harpoon during a ritual hippopotamus hunt. Traces of red paint are preserved in furrows at the sides of the mouth.
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Artwork Details
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Title: Head of a Hippopotamus
Period: New Kingdom
Dynasty: Dynasty 18
Reign: reign of Amenhotep III
Date: ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt
Medium: Travertine (Egyptian alabaster) with traces of gesso and red pigment
Dimensions: H. 14 cm (5 1/2 in); W. 12.2 cm (4 13/16 in); D. from back to jaw 15.2 cm (6 in)
Credit Line: Purchase, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, Gift of Henry Walters, by exchange, Ludlow Bull Fund, Beatrice Cooper Gift, and funds from various donors, 1997
Accession Number: 1997.375
Learn more about this artwork
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Timeline of Art History
Chronology
Egypt, 2000-1000 B.C.
Museum Publications
"Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 1997–1998": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 56, no. 2 (Fall, 1998)
The Guennol Collection Vol. 1
Related Artworks
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- Egyptian Art
- Alabaster
- Gesso
- Gypsum
- Limestone
- Travertine
- From Africa
- From Egypt
- From 2000–1000 B.C.
Sphinx of Amenhotep III, possibly from a Model of a Temple
ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
Cosmetic Vessel in the Shape of a Cat
ca. 1990–1900 B.C.
Goblet Inscribed with the Names of King Amenhotep IV and Queen Nefertiti
ca. 1353–1336 B.C.
Cosmetic Spoon in the Shape of Swimming Woman Holding a Dish
ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
Ointment Jar
ca. 1981–1952 B.C.
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Egyptian Art at The Met
The Met's collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 26,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from the Paleolithic to the Roman period.
