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Tusk
Egyptian
Predynastic Period
Naqada I, 3850–3650 B.C.
Findspot: Egypt, Mesaid, Tomb 25
Medium/Technique
Ivory
Dimensions
Length: 8.6 cm (3 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number11.287
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsUnclassifiable objects – Function unknown
This unusual object, carved from the tooth of a hippopotamus and terminating in a figure of a hippopotamus, may have served as a container for a substance believed to have magical powers. Such items were worn around the neck on leather strings.
DescriptionThis unusual object, carved from the tooth of a hippopotamus and terminating in a figure of a hippopotamus, may have served as a container for a substance believed to have magical powers. Such items were worn around the neck on leather strings.
ProvenanceFrom Mesaid (Mesa'eed) tomb 25, no. 4 [M/25/4]. 1910: excavated by the Harvard University-Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA in the divsion of finds by the government of Egypt.
(Accession Date: March 2, 1911)
(Accession Date: March 2, 1911)