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This hedgehog (<em>Paraechinus aethiopicus) </em>stands in the round on an oval base, with openwork defining the legs. The carving is delicate and spirited. The face features large, round eyes; widely spaced, short ears; bulging cheeks; and a protruding snout. A tiny tail hangs at the rear. Crosshatching on the back represents the animal's spines. The design on the base begins at the head with a winged sun disk with pendant uraei. Below is a cluster of hieroglyphic signs, including an ankh-sign, a falcon with a sun disk, a hoe, and a <em>maat-</em>feather. A <em>neb-</em>sign fills the balance below.<br><br>The significance of the hedgehog has multiple theories. As a hibernating animal, it may have associated with the powers of self-renewal and resurrection. Another lies in the animal's defensive strategy of inflating itself into a ball and projecting its spines, a posture of obvious apotropaic significance. Lastly, Egyptian folklore maintained that hedgehog amulets provided protection against snake bites, a belief grounded in the animal's natural resistance to poison.

Page data

Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
5683e6bfbd3da50e
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
148266
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "148266",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Hedgehog",
    "description": "This hedgehog (<em>Paraechinus aethiopicus) </em>stands in the round on an oval base, with openwork defining the legs. The carving is delicate and spirited. The face features large, round eyes; widely spaced, short ears; bulging cheeks; and a protruding snout. A tiny tail hangs at the rear. Crosshatching on the back represents the animal's spines. The design on the base begins at the head with a winged sun disk with pendant uraei. Below is a cluster of hieroglyphic signs, including an ankh-sign, a falcon with a sun disk, a hoe, and a <em>maat-</em>feather. A <em>neb-</em>sign fills the balance below.<br><br>The significance of the hedgehog has multiple theories. As a hibernating animal, it may have associated with the powers of self-renewal and resurrection. Another lies in the animal's defensive strategy of inflating itself into a ball and projecting its spines, a posture of obvious apotropaic significance. Lastly, Egyptian folklore maintained that hedgehog amulets provided protection against snake bites, a belief grounded in the animal's natural resistance to poison.",
    "date": "c. 1391–1353 BCE",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.24",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60761839"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Scarabs"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.24/1975.24_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.24/1975.24_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.24/1975.24_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 1.7 x 1.8 cm (11/16 x 11/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BCE)"
    ],
    "accession": "1975.24"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "148266",
    "label": "Hedgehog",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "148266",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Hedgehog",
    "description": "This hedgehog (<em>Paraechinus aethiopicus) </em>stands in the round on an oval base, with openwork defining the legs. The carving is delicate and spirited. The face features large, round eyes; widely spaced, short ears; bulging cheeks; and a protruding snout. A tiny tail hangs at the rear. Crosshatching on the back represents the animal's spines. The design on the base begins at the head with a winged sun disk with pendant uraei. Below is a cluster of hieroglyphic signs, including an ankh-sign, a falcon with a sun disk, a hoe, and a <em>maat-</em>feather. A <em>neb-</em>sign fills the balance below.<br><br>The significance of the hedgehog has multiple theories. As a hibernating animal, it may have associated with the powers of self-renewal and resurrection. Another lies in the animal's defensive strategy of inflating itself into a ball and projecting its spines, a posture of obvious apotropaic significance. Lastly, Egyptian folklore maintained that hedgehog amulets provided protection against snake bites, a belief grounded in the animal's natural resistance to poison.",
    "date": "c. 1391–1353 BCE",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.24",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60761839"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Scarabs"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.24/1975.24_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.24/1975.24_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.24/1975.24_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 1.7 x 1.8 cm (11/16 x 11/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BCE)"
    ],
    "accession": "1975.24"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "steatite, originally glazed",
    "tombstone": "Hedgehog, c. 1391–1353 BCE. Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BCE). Steatite, originally glazed; overall: 1.7 x 1.8 cm (11/16 x 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Guerdon S. Holden Memorial Fund, 1975.24",
    "collection": "Egypt - New Kingdom",
    "didYouKnow": "Hedgehogs were common on amulets in the New Kingdom (1500s–1000s BC) and can also be seen on the backs of seals and scaraboids.",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1975.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 63, no. 2 (1976).",
            "page_number": "no. 5",
            "url": "https://www.jstor.org/stable/25152624"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač.<em> Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999",
            "page_number": "Reproduced: p. 296; Mentioned: p. 296-297"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.24",
    "creditline": "Guerdon S. Holden Memorial Fund",
    "updatedAt": "2026-06-10 19:45:01.455000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.24/1975.24_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 148266,
    "dept": "Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art",
    "coll": "Egypt - New Kingdom",
    "med": "steatite, originally glazed",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
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    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1975.24/1975.24_web.jpg",
    "mediaId": "5683e6bfbd3da50e"
}