Steatite Statuette of Thoth in Form of a Baboon

Culture: Egyptian

Period: Late period, 664-332 B.C.

Material: Steatite

Dimensions: 4.3 cm high

Price: 4 000 Euro

Ref: 1553

Provenance: From an old French collection, acquired prior to 1980. Thence with Galerie Puhze, Freiburg, Germany. Published in catalogue 23 of Galerie Puhze, Freiburg 2009, no. 216. On 24 September 2009 acquired by the collection Erika Krautkrämer (1932-2022). Thence in the family estate. With the original certificate of Galerie Puhze.

Condition: Base broken in ancient times, otherwise very beautifully preserved.

Description: High quality black-brown steatite statuette of Thoth, the god of wisdom, in form of a crouching baboon. The animal with a massive shoulder mane and opulent collar, from where only the forepaws, resting on the knees, protrude. His finely modelled head with a prominent snout is the eponym for “dog-headed monkey”. The fur is detailly engraved in the entire body. In the perforation on the head was once a separately worked out, today missing moon disk, which was held by a crescent. Baboons were considered as sacred animals, who embodied the god of wisdom, scribes and the art of writing. As the late ancient philosopher Horapollo recounts, baboons chosen as Thoth's incorporation animals were tested for their intelligence by being presented with writing utensils. The god could inhabit these animals like a cult image. The animals' habit of shouting and yelling at sunrise was already interpreted in the New Kingdom as a special sign of intelligence and homage to the sun god. This high quality, small statuette possibly served as consecration offering for a temple or part of the family altar. Published in: Galerie Puhze Katalog 23, 2009, no. 216. See for the type of the statuette in the Ägyptisches Museum in Berlin with the identification number ÄM 4438.