Reverent Baboon with Pharaoh figure
Vienna, Austria
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Egyptian Collection
About Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
18th Dyn. Amenophis II, 1454-1419 BC; acquired in 1865/66
ÄOS Inv.Nr. 5782
Pink granite
Height 130 cm, Width 42 cm, Diameter 61,5 cm
The loud rejoicing of the Hamadryas baboon at the sunrise in its rocky habitat served as a model for the Egyptian celebration of the ascent and descent of the sun at the critical stages of its cycle. Baboons with upraised hands – the Egyptian gesture of reverence – became symbols for the “eastern souls”, the gods who cheer the sun at its appearance above the horizon. The king joins these gods in his role as sun priest.
"Reverent Baboon with Pharaoh figure" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;at;24;en
MWNF Working Number: AT 025