Figurine of a Pygmy Dance Leader

Figurine of a Pygmy Dance Leader

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pygmies, small in stature but naturally proportioned, lived in Central Africa, and ancient Egyptians contacted them through intermediaries on the Upper Nile. Egyptians believed the pygmies possessed divine qualities and called their performances "dances of the gods." A young Egyptian woman named Hepy was given an automaton consisting of a board with pygmy figures that could be turned by pulling strings fastened around their bases. This piece may represent their leader.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Figurine of a Pygmy Dance LeaderFigurine of a Pygmy Dance LeaderFigurine of a Pygmy Dance LeaderFigurine of a Pygmy Dance LeaderFigurine of a Pygmy Dance Leader

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.