Egypt
Middle Kingdom , 2040-1782 BC
Blue faience with black details
Height 3.5 cm ( 1 3⁄8 in )
Width 6.8 cm ( 2 5⁄8 in )
Former private collection W.B. Germany, acquired between 1954 and 1959 in Egypt
F.D. Friedman: Gifts of the Nile, Ancient Egyptian Faience, Thames & Hudson, London 1998
W.C. Hayes: Sceptre of Egypt I, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1959
J. Bourriau & S. Quirke: Pharaohs and Mortals: Egyptian art in the Middle Kingdom, University Press Cambridge 1988
The Fennec is lying on a rectangular base with its head turned sideways, its tail curled around his back and ears laid backwards. The eyes, ears and snout are detailed in black and the body of the animal is covered in small spots.
The animal has been crafted in an informal and naturalistic style. This type of figure was probably intended as representation of the actual animal living in the household, most likely a treasured reminder of a person’s pet during their life, and thus included in the tomb as a keepsake.