Palette – zoomorphic, hartebeest PAL-0028
By Droux, Xavier
, Archaeological context unknown. Before 1922 : Collection Rev. William MacGregor.Brussels, Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, E.6187.
Date : Naqada IIC–D (?)
Assumed date of type pal_bov_2b, see Droux (2019).
Material : Greywacke, Ostrich eggshell
Preservation : Intact
Description
The palette has a mostly rounded shape with added stylised zoomorphic details. The hartebeest is shown standing, with its head protruding directly from the body. A small hole is drilled through the back, likely for attaching a string or thong.
Decoration
The horns are thin, lyre-shaped, and seen frontally, as is characteristic for the hartebeest. A large, drilled hole separates them from one another and they connect again before their tip point outward. Details of the head are limited to the pointed ear that protrudes below the back horn, and the eyes that are represented by a small, drilled depression with a small, inlaid eggshell disc. The legs are short, with carved details of the hoofs. The tail is indicated by a line incised along the edge of the backside.
Dimensions (cm)
9.2
12.3
Additional information
pal_bov_2b
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.
References
1994
Antiquités préhistoriques et protodynastiques d'Égypte. Guides du département égyptien 8. Brussels
, 44–5.
