Egyptian Faience Baboon / Thoth Holding Jar

Ancient Egypt, Middle Kingdom, 11th to 12th Dynasty, ca. 2130 to 1802 BCE. An incredible baboon figure depicting the god Thoth atop an integral ovoid plinth and holding an ointment jar with a black lid. The squatting simian holds the jar tightly in both hands and features a bulbous body, drooping shoulders, a broad neck, a sinuous tail wrapped around the left side of the base. The face bears applied black pigment that forms the nostrils and mouth on the rounded muzzle, the almond eyes with elongated interior canthi, and the horizontal hairs of the mane. Lustrous glaze of a brilliant blue hue envelops the humble creature and is embellished with dozens of slender black lines indicative of hair. The baboon form of god Thoth, typically depicted as an ibis-headed man, is associated with the calculation of time as well as renewing royal power, writing, and intellectualism. This item was perhaps a funerary offering since the ointment jar symbolizes medicinal substances for the deceased rather than scented oils or perfumes. Size: 1.8" L x 1.4" W x 2.75" H (4.6 cm x 3.6 cm x 7 cm); 3.3" H (8.4 cm) on included custom stand.

Baboons were not native to Egypt, but instead were imported from Nubia. They were, however, common animals in the ancient Egyptian artistic tradition as well as being important to religious worship. According to Egyptologists Erik Hornung and Betsy M. Bryan, "As primeval animals, baboons and green monkeys were prominent parts of the Egyptian cosmogony. The earliest gods are sometimes depicted with baboon heads. The baboon became an aspect of the sun god, Re . . . And of the moon god, Thoth-Khonsu. Thoth (Djehuty in ancient Egyptian) was the god of writing and knowledge, who was depicted in the form of two animals: the baboon (Papio cynocephalus) and the sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus). In his baboon form Thoth was closely associated with the baboon god, Hedj-wer (the great white one) of the Early Dynastic period. By the end of the Old Kingdom (2686 - 2181 BCE) he was usually portrayed as an ibis-headed man, holding a scribal palette and pen or a notched palm leaf, performing some kind of act of recording or calculation." (Hornung, Erik and Betsy M. Bryan, eds. "The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt." National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2002, p. 200)

Cf. Caubet, Annie and Genevieve Pierrat-Bonnefois. "Faiences de l'Antiquite: de l'Egypt a l'Iran" exhibition catalog, Louvre Museum, Paris, 2005, pp. 36-37, no. 69.

A stylistically similar example of a Middle Kingdom baboon holding an ointment jar that is carved from anhydrite, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 10.176.54a, b.

Another stylistically similar example can be seen at The Brooklyn Museum, accession number 59.199.3.

Provenance: private Staten Island, New York, USA collection, acquired in May 2018; ex-Pierre Berge auction, Paris, France (May 16, 2018, lot 24); ex-Nicolaas Johan Montijn collection, The Netherlands, acquired via family descent; ex-Klass Montijn collection, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, acquired in 1968

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#153868
Condition Report: Repaired from multiple pieces, with restoration to areas of knees, legs, body, arms, and head, and resurfacing with overpainting along new material and break lines. Losses to front of integral plinth as shown. Minor abrasions to limbs, body, jar, and head, with light fading to original pigmentation, and light encrustations. Fabulous remains of original pigment throughout.