Plaque with a Dancing Dwarf with Large Phallus
Description
<p>Dwarfs played an important role in Egyptian society. Dwarfism-a genetic condition characterized by unusually short stature and shortened limbs-is frequently represented in Egyptian tomb reliefs and statues, and the remains of dwarfs have been found in tombs associated with the royal cemeteries. Dwarfs held important positions in the administration of the ancient Egyptian government, and they also worked as jewelers, performed in special rituals (in which they were called "god's dancers"), or served as midwives. Some were believed, because of their unusual appearance, to have supernatural powers and a special relation to the gods. The dancing posture and the oversized phallus of this dwarf-figure should secure virility and male potency for the owner in this life as well as the afterlife.</p><p>For the latest information about this object, <cite><a href='https://purl.thewalters.org/art/48.1651' rel='external'>Plaque with a Dancing Dwarf with Large Phallus</a></cite>, visit the Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum.</p>
Cross-references (2)
- Walters-AccNum 48.1651 tier-2
- Walters-id 9556 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Walters Art Museum (Egyptian).
- 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.