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Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access) · statue

Hippopotamus ("William")

Source of record: Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access) — catalogued by the holding institution. View the original record →

Description

Faience

AI image analysis GPT-4o-2024-08-06

Machine-generated from the object's image on May 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.

A blue faience hippopotamus figurine with painted lotus flower patterns.

This artifact is a small blue faience hippopotamus, adorned with intricate black painted lotus flower designs. The vibrant turquoise hue and detailed patterning are characteristic of Middle Kingdom Egyptian craftwork, emphasizing decorative art. The hippopotamus was often associated with the goddess Taweret, symbolizing both danger and protection.

decorative Middle Kingdom excellent
Deities Taweret
Materials faience

Connections

Found at Meir
Deities Taweret
Materials Faience

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q137836 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 17.9.1 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 544227 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
About this record's data
  • From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access).
  • 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.