Palette – zoomorphic, hartebeest PAL-0030
By Droux, Xavier
Archaeological site unknown.
1886 : Bought from Rev. Greville J. Chester.London, British Museum, EA 20910.
Date : Naqada IIC–D (?)
Assumed date of type pal_bov_2b, see Droux (2019).
Material : Greywacke
Preservation : Complete
Preservation information :
Tip of front leg broken off.
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 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 tips point outward. Details of the head are limited to the pointed ear that protrudes at the back of the head below the 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)
11.2
13.3
1.2
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.
References
1905
Primitive art in Egypt; translated from the revised and augmented original edition. London
, 78, n. 1, 85, fig. 54.1952
Manuel d'archéologie égyptienne I: 1; les époques de formation, la préhistoire. Paris
, 378, fig. 255.
