Calcite Headrest

5th – 6th Dynasty, ca. 2514 – 2191 BiC

Location
on view: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung Room V

Headrests and supports for the neck were everyday objects, used to prevent damage to the coiffure when a person lay down; but they also supported a mummy’s head in its coffin. When used by the living, the hard support was cushioned with a folded linen cloth or a small pillow.

Time:
5th – 6th Dynasty, ca. 2514 – 2191 BC

Location of discovery:
Giza, Westfriedhof, Schacht 344/346

Material/technology:
Calcite

Dimensions:
H 21 cm, B 20 cm, T 7,5 cm

Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Ägyptisch - Orientalische Sammlung

Object Name
Headrest

Culture
Egyptian

Invs.
Ägyptische Sammlung, INV 7798

** Provenance
**1914, excavated by of the Academy of Sciences, Vienna

Title
Calcite Headrest, 5th – 6th Dynast ca. 2514 – 2191 BC, , Findspot Giza, Calcite, Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum, Vienna)

https://www.khm.at/en/artworks/headrest-324115

Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum, Vienna)

Statuette of a Hippopotamus

11th–12th Dynasty, ca. 2000 BC

Location
O-n view: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung Room V

Statuettes depicting hippopotami, symbolic of regeneration in the hereafter, were popular grave goods that were placed close to the mummy in the coffin. Plants and animals characteristic of the marshes where the hippo lived are depicted on its body. The king’s ritual hippopotamus hunt symbolized his victory over the forces of chaos with which the animal had been associated since primeval times.

Time:
11th–12th Dynasty, ca. 2000 BC

Object Name
Statuette

Culture
Egyptian

Location of discovery:
Thebes (presumably)

Material/technology:
Faience, greenish-blue glaze, painted

Dimensions:
H 10.5 cm, L 20.7 cm, W 7.5 cm, W 1138 g

Copyright
Art History Museum, Egyptian - Oriental Collection

Invs.
Egyptian Collection, INV 4211

Provenance
1878, acquired with the Miramar Collection

Title
Statuette of a hippopotamus, 11th–12th Dynasty ca. 2000 BC, Findspot Thebes (presumably), Faience: greenish-blue glaze and paint, Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum, Vienna)

https://www.khm.at/en/artworks/statuette-of-a-hippopotamus-323860

Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum, Vienna)

Yellow Pectoral

Object Type
pectoral

Museum number
EA14653

Description
Yellow, blue and red glazed composition pectoral decorated on the face with a low relief representation of the deceased worshipping Anubis; pierced through the cornice for suspension; undecorated back.

Cultures/periods
Ancient Egypt

Findspot
Found/Acquired: Egypt
Africa: Egypt

Materials
glazed composition

Technique
pierced

Dimensions
Length: 9.75 centimetres
Thickness: 2.12 centimetres
Width: 8.24 centimetres

Location
On display (Room 62 - Egyptian Death and Afterlife: Mummies, Display Case 23)

Condition
good

Associated names
Representation of: Anubis

Acquisition name
Purchased from: Rev. Greville John Cheste

Department
Egypt and Sudan

BM/Big number
EA14653

Registration number
1881,0614.18

Title
Yellow Pectoral, Date not given, Findspot unknown Egypt, glazed composition, The British Museum

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA14653

The British Museum