Relief of a Desert Hunt
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This object is not part of The Met collection. It was in the Museum for a special exhibition and has been returned to the lender.
For the ancient Egyptians, the desert hunt was not only a means of obtaining food and an elite leisure activity, but also a metaphor for the maintenance of order. This fragment from a tomb wall depicts part of a scene in which wild animals have been herded into a fenced enclosure and are being shot by a hunter originally depicted to the left. Nonroyal hunters were rarely depicted using a bow and arrow before the Middle Kingdom.
For the ancient Egyptians, the desert hunt was not only a means of obtaining food and an elite leisure activity, but also a metaphor for the maintenance of order. This fragment from a tomb wall depicts part of a scene in which wild animals have been herded into a fenced enclosure and are being shot by a hunter originally depicted to the left. Nonroyal hunters were rarely depicted using a bow and arrow before the Middle Kingdom.
Artwork Details
- Title: Relief of a Desert Hunt
- Period: Middle Kingdom
- Dynasty: Dynasty 12
- Date: ca. 1981-1802 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Limestone
- Dimensions: H. 31.2 cm (12 5/16 in.); W. 32 cm (12 5/8 in.); D. 3.5 cm (1 3/8 in.)
- Credit Line: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art