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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
- Size
- 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",
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"language": "en",
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"Q60753732"
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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"
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"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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