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As a glass-like material associated with rebirth, Egyptian faience is often used to make funerary objects. Hippos live in the Nile River, which the ancient Egyptians believed to be the source of all life. Faience amulets have protective properties that can be transferred to the owner; they were worn during life and sewn into the mummified wraps of the deceased. A faience shaboti is a small person placed in a tomb to perform labor in the afterlife. If the deceased were asked to sow or irrigate the land in the afterlife, Shabti would come forward and answer “I will” and work for them.
The faience hippo is currently on display at the RISD Museum ‘s Existence and Beliefs in the Natural World exhibit. Among the more than 100 works selected from the museum’s Asian, Native American, and ancient Mediterranean collections, creators from 2000 BC to the present explore the relationship between humans and the natural world.
PS Do you know those cute hippos that are scattered in museums all over the world? Here you can see many hippos and their locations!
PPS If you love blue Egyptian hippos as much as we do, check out our set of 50 animal postcards . Spoiler alert: The blue hippo is on one of these beautiful postcards! ?
7.8 x 5.2 x 20.3 cm
Ancient Egyptian art
RISD Museum
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