Baboon Appliqué
Description
Object Label: The baboon, like the ibis, was sacred to the god Thoth. A small number of baboon mummies were buried in the ibis cemeteries. The wooden baboon shown here perhaps was part of a shrine of Thoth as a baboon. The small appliqué also on view was once attached to a baboon mummy. Bronze figurines of baboons, like the third object displayed here, were symbols used by scribes, who worshipped Thoth as the god of writing. Caption: Baboon Appliqué, 305–30 B.C.E.. Linen, 5 1/2 x 2 3/8 x 1/4 in. (14 x 6 x 0.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.272E. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano
Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
The image shows a small stitched/appliqué-style figure of a seated baboon (or baboon-like animal) made of brownish material on a light background, with detailed facial features and patterned body markings.
A single appliqué/patch depicts a baboon with a curled tail extending to the right, a forward-looking snout, and large ears. The head and body are rendered in a textured, dark brown fabric or thread-like surface, with lighter and darker areas suggesting stitched patterning. The torso includes multiple bands of geometric/dotted motifs, and the figure appears seated on its forelimbs or hands. The object edges look irregular, consistent with cut textile/appliqué work rather than a carved sculpture. No surrounding inscriptions, cartouches, or additional figures are visible in the photograph.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 37.272E tier-2
- BKM-Object 116954 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.