Bowl with hippopotami
Naqada I, 3850–3650 B.C.
FindspotMesaid, Egypt
Medium/TechniquePottery (Nile silt ware)
DimensionsHeight x diameter: 6.8 x 19.4 cm (2 11/16 x 7 5/8 in.)
Credit LineHarvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession number11.312
On View
On viewClassificationsVessels
Collections
The scene on this bowl shows stylized hippopotami in a landscape setting. The animals are shown in profile, with clearly articulated eyes, ears, legs and tails. The wavy concentric lines of the central rosette are meant to represent water, while the zigzag lines around the border suggest cliffs on the horizon. Scenes of wild creatures may have been intended to impart their powers on the vessels' owners, granting them success in the hunt and protection from danger in the afterlife.
ProvenanceFrom Mesaid (Mesa'eed) tomb 26, no. 6 [M/26/6]. 1910: excavated by the Harvard University-Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; March 2, 1911: assigned to the MFA by the government of Egypt.
1390–1327 B.C.
Naqada I, 3850–3650 B.C.
Naqada I, 3850–3650 B.C.
Naqada II, 3650–3300 B.C.
Naqada I, 3850–3650 B.C.