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Sensuously carved and polished to a silky luster, this weight takes the form of a hippopotamus head. Eyes, ears, and nostrils ae modeled in relief; the mouth is closed. The flat underside provides a surface on which to rest the object. This hippo head weighs 62.1 grams, roughly three-quarters of a <em>deben, </em>a unit of weight in ancient Egypt. As such it does not correspond to any of the more usual subdivisions of the <em>deben, </em>although similar examples are known. In fact it is an inter-standard weight, representing eight <em>seniu </em>or two-thirds of a <em>deben, </em>and is equivalent of an Aegean unit of 62.1 grams.

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Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
dd4741a5984243c0
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unknown

Document data

ID
156277
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "156277",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Weight in the Form of a Hippopotamus Head",
    "description": "Sensuously carved and polished to a silky luster, this weight takes the form of a hippopotamus head. Eyes, ears, and nostrils ae modeled in relief; the mouth is closed. The flat underside provides a surface on which to rest the object. This hippo head weighs 62.1 grams, roughly three-quarters of a <em>deben, </em>a unit of weight in ancient Egypt. As such it does not correspond to any of the more usual subdivisions of the <em>deben, </em>although similar examples are known. In fact it is an inter-standard weight, representing eight <em>seniu </em>or two-thirds of a <em>deben, </em>and is equivalent of an Aegean unit of 62.1 grams.",
    "date": "c. 1540–1296 BCE",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1992.114",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60753732"
    ],
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        "Tools and Equipment"
    ],
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    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1992.114/1992.114_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 2.2 x 3 x 4.2 cm (7/8 x 1 3/16 x 1 5/8 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18"
    ],
    "accession": "1992.114"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "156277",
    "label": "Weight in the Form of a Hippopotamus Head",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "156277",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Weight in the Form of a Hippopotamus Head",
    "description": "Sensuously carved and polished to a silky luster, this weight takes the form of a hippopotamus head. Eyes, ears, and nostrils ae modeled in relief; the mouth is closed. The flat underside provides a surface on which to rest the object. This hippo head weighs 62.1 grams, roughly three-quarters of a <em>deben, </em>a unit of weight in ancient Egypt. As such it does not correspond to any of the more usual subdivisions of the <em>deben, </em>although similar examples are known. In fact it is an inter-standard weight, representing eight <em>seniu </em>or two-thirds of a <em>deben, </em>and is equivalent of an Aegean unit of 62.1 grams.",
    "date": "c. 1540–1296 BCE",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1992.114",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q60753732"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Tools and Equipment"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1992.114/1992.114_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1992.114/1992.114_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1992.114/1992.114_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 2.2 x 3 x 4.2 cm (7/8 x 1 3/16 x 1 5/8 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18"
    ],
    "accession": "1992.114"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "hematite",
    "tombstone": "Weight in the Form of a Hippopotamus Head, c. 1540–1296 BCE. Egypt, New Kingdom (1540–1069 BCE), Dynasty 18. Hematite; overall: 2.2 x 3 x 4.2 cm (7/8 x 1 3/16 x 1 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1992.114",
    "collection": "Egypt - New Kingdom",
    "didYouKnow": "The word hippopotamus comes from the ancient Greek for \"river horse\" (ἱπποπόταμος).",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Turner, Evan H. “Selected 1991 Acquisitions.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 79, no. 2 (1992).",
            "page_number": "p. 65, no. 17",
            "url": "https://www.jstor.org/stable/25161350"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1992.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 80, no. 2 (February 1993): 38–79.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned: p. 65",
            "url": "http://www.jstor.org/stable/25161388"
        },
        {
            "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. 311; Mentioned: p. 311"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1992.114",
    "creditline": "John L. Severance Fund",
    "updatedAt": "2026-06-10 19:46:24.200000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1992.114/1992.114_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 156277,
    "dept": "Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art",
    "coll": "Egypt - New Kingdom",
    "med": "hematite",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
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