HIPPOPOTAMUS STATUETTE The ferocious animal, depicted in a stylised manner, is reminiscent of Egyptian earthenware from the Middle Ages. Standing with its head tilted downwards, this animal animal has a symbolic ambivalence that oscillates between good and evil. Observing this creature, capable of emerging from the water and occasionally wandering Egyptians interpreted it as a symbol of the creation of the world. In Sudarabic art, animals such as rams, ibex, bulls and camels are often depicted, camels are often represented - symbols of strength and authority, but also representative of the fauna of this region. This figure bears witness to the influences of Egyptian art on the art of the peninsula, a consequence of the intense commercial relations between Egypt and the South Arabian peninsula. Alabaster. Dim. 16.5 x 22 cm South Arabian Peninsula, circa 1st millennium BC A South Arabian alabaster figure of an Hippopotamus. The ferocious animal, represented in a stylized manner, recalls the earthenware representations of Middle Kingdom Egypt. Standing with its head tilted downward, this animal has an ambivalent symbolism oscillating between Good and Evil. Observing this creature capable of emerging from the water to wander from time to time on Earth, the Egyptians interpreted it as the symbol of the creation of the world. In South Arabian art, animals such as rams, ibex, bulls, camels are often represented-symbols of strength and authority, but also representative of the animal fauna of this region. The figure present here testifies to the influences of Egyptian art on the art of the peninsula, a consequence of the intense commercial relations between Egypt and the South Arabian peninsula. Circa 1st Millennium BCE. Provenance Former François Antonovich collection, antiquarian at the Louvre des Antiquaires, Paris, (1934-2023) Outrebente sale, 30/03/2022, lot 123 (lot covered by the OCBC)