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Source 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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
156277
label
Weight in the Form of a Hippopotamus Head
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
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
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60753732
genreSpecific
Tools and Equipment
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
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
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
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
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-06-10 19:46:24.200000
sourceId
156277
dept
Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
coll
Egypt - New Kingdom
med
hematite
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
dd4741a5984243c0