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Clay Donkey

This little š“ˆ–š“†“š“‹“š“…© clay š“ŠŖš“ˆ–š“‹“š“ˆ‡ donkey š“ƒ˜š“ŗ is easy to miss in the display cabinets of the galleries at the MET, but he is just so cute!Ā 

Clay Donkey

This piece was is very rudimentary but I love how it shows a different level of ancient Egyptian artistry. There are four little sticks in the donkey š“ƒ˜š“ŗ which are used to hold the little clay š“ŠŖš“ˆ–š“‹“š“ˆ‡ balls which are probably representing sacks of grain š“ˆŽš“„æš“…±š“øš“¦. This little š“ˆ–š“†“š“‹“š“…© clay š“ŠŖš“ˆ–š“‹“š“ˆ‡ donkey š“ƒ˜š“ŗ was actually found by Howard Carter when he was excavating near Hatshepsutā€™s š“‡‹š“ š“ˆ–š“Ž¹š“š“„‚š“š“€¼š“Ŗ temple!Ā Ā 

While horses š“‹“š“‹“š“…“š“š“ƒ—š“Ŗ werenā€™t introduced into Egypt š“†Žš“…“š“š“Š– until the Second Intermediate Period (around 1600 B.C.E.), donkeys š“ƒ˜š“ƒ˜š“ƒ˜ seem to have been in Egypt š“†Žš“…“š“š“Š– since around 4500 B.C.E. (based on bone evidence). However, the first artistic representation of a donkey š“†„š“…±š“ƒ˜ is from a palette dated to 3100 B.C.E., which is around the end of the Predynastic Period and the start of the Archaic Period (1st and 2nd Dynasties).Ā 

Another distinction between donkeys š“ƒ˜š“ƒ˜š“ƒ˜ and horses š“‹“š“‹“š“…“š“š“ƒ—š“Ŗ in ancient Egypt š“†Žš“…“š“š“Š– were that donkeys š“ƒ˜š“Ŗ were used mainly for work and for hauling goods/materials in carts (as seen in this clay š“ŠŖš“ˆ–š“‹“š“ˆ‡ representation) while horses š“‹“š“‹“š“…“š“š“ƒ—š“Ŗ were only used for pulling chariots š“…Øš“‚‹š“‚‹š“š“Œš“¦ and were reserved solely for the military and pharaohs š“‰š“‰»š“„.Ā 

This piece is dated to the Second Intermediate Period ā€“ Early New Kingdom (13th-18th Dynasties, 1991ā€“1450 B.C.E.).Ā 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.Ā 

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