Palette – zoomorphic, hartebeest PAL-0022
By Droux, Xavier
Archaeological site unknown.
1909 : Given by an antiquities dealer in Luxor.Brussels, Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, E.2887.
Date : Naqada IIA–B
General date of type pal_bov_2a, see Droux (2019).
Material : Greywacke
Preservation : Fragmentary
Preservation information :
The front part of the head, the horns, and the extremities of the legs are missing; small chips along the edges and pitting on the surface.
Description
The palette has a mostly ovoid shape with added stylised zoomorphic details. The hartebeest is shown standing, with its head raised higher than the level of the back. A small hole is drilled through the back, likely for attaching a string or thong.
Decoration
The only preserved detail of the head is the edge of the pierced hole that represented the eyes. If it was ever inlaid, no such traces are visible. At the back of the head are the possible remains of the beginning of a backward-pointing ear. It is not possible to determine the shape of the horns, but by comparison with similar palettes they were likely seen frontally and lyre-shaped, as is characteristic of the hartebeest.
There is a marked hump at the back before the junction with the neck. The legs are not fully preserved but were likely two simple, rounded protuberances. The tail is not indicated.
Dimensions (cm)
14.1
23.5
0.9
Additional information
pal_bov_2a
Comments
Palettes of shape-type pal_bov_2 are all carved in the shape of the hartebeest, although identification is sometimes tentative; sub-type 2a seems to pre-date sub-type 2b; see Droux (2019); this assumption is based on stylistic considerations since no palette of sub-type 2b comes from a known, precise archaeological context.
Acknowledgements
We thank Dirk Huyge for facilitating the study of this artefact.