Baboon holding an inscribed stela dedicated to Iretherukhef

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Statues of elite men bearing stelae (stelophorous) first appeared in the Eighteenth Dynasty, often inscribed with hymns dedicated to the rising and the setting sun. This figurine might be drawing on these forms while depicting a baboon before the stela. Iretherukhef, named on the stela, could be therefore evoking the baboons who welcome the rising sun. Through their daily adoration of the sun, these primates were models of ancient Egyptian engagement with the divine. At the same time, baboons are also often associated with the god Thoth, whose name seems to appear at the beginning of the inscribed stela in its ibis form. This figurine might therefore be a creative and playful play with both of the baboon’s associations. It is the symbol of the adored god as well as the act of adoration.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art