Oxford Palette

Last updated
Oxford Palette
Two Dogs Palette.jpg
Material Siltstone
Heightc. 42 cm
Widthc. 22 cm
Createdc. 3200 BC
Discovered1898
Edfu, Aswan, Egypt
Discovered by James Quibell and Frederick Green
Present location Oxford, England, United Kingdom
IdentificationE3924

The Oxford Palette, also known as the Two Dog Palette or the Minor Hierakonpolis Dogs Palette, is an Ancient Egyptian cosmetic palette discovered in Hierakonpolis. It is part of the collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, United Kingdom. [1]

Contents

The Palette was discovered by British archeologists James Quibell and Frederick W. Green, in what they called the Main Deposit in the Temple of Horus at Hierakonpolis, during the dig season of 1897–1898.

Description

Carved in low relief, the obverse side of the palette features two African wild dogs at the top, two serpopards licking a gazelle framing a mixing circle, and Saluki hounds attacking ibexes at the bottom. It is the earliest known representation of a griffin-like figure in Ancient Egyptian art, [2] which appears on its reverse side with comb-like wings. At the bottom of the reverse side, a jackal-headed figure wearing a belt or penis-sheath plays a flute. [3]

See also

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References

  1. "Two Dog Palette". www.ashmolean.org. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  2. Frankfort, Henri (November 1937). "Notes on the Cretan Griffin". Annual of the British School at Athens. 37: 106–122. doi:10.1017/S0068245400018025.
  3. "Nekhen News" (PDF). Hierakonpolis Online. Retrieved 18 February 2024.