Egypt, Roman Period, ca. 2nd Century BCE to 1st century CE. This is a finely rendered, charming glazed molded pottery piece depicting a seated baboon with a narrow hole in his skull that was probably used as a makeup container for kohl. He has incised hair and fur and sits alert and erect, with his tail curled against his body, and his genitals exposed. The glaze color is a deep blue. He has two small handles on either side of his head. Baboons were common animals in the ancient Egyptian artistic tradition as well as being important to religious worship. They were not native to Egypt, but instead were imported from Nubia. Many were kept in temples and later mummified; the temple at Saqqara is particularly famous because it is the site of an excavation of nearly 100 baboons, all of whom were mummified and then put into wooden coffins and placed in a recess sealed with a limestone slab that listed the date of their burial. There was also a sacred troop of baboons at Memphis. Sexual potency and prowess were associated with the baboon god Bebon, but the squatting baboon, like this one, was associated with Thoth. The baboon of Thoth, known as Isdes, was an assistant in the judgment hall in the underworld and was associated with knowledge and scribes -- possibly why his form would be used as an inkwell! Size: 3-1/4" H x 2" L x 1-1/2" W (8.3 cm x 5 cm x 3.8 cm).

Provenance: Ex-Art for Eternity, Howard Nowes, NYC, NY; ex-private collection of the artist Philip Pearlstein, NYC.

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#110778

Minor surface deposits, else intact/excellent.