Plaster copy of a palette


Accession Number
EC641
Current Location
House of Life (first floor), Fakes, forgeries, and replicas case
Object Type
Implements and utensils, Cosmetic and medical equipment and implements, Palette
Periods
Predynastic Period to Modern
Naqada III
Material
Plaster
Measurements
Length: 132mm | Width: 163mm | Weight: 192g
Number of Elements
1
Animals
Bird | Giraffe

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Description

A plaster copy of a siltstone palette, commonly known as the Battlefield Palette, Vultures Palette or Giraffes Palette. Part of this is in the Ashmolean Museum and the rest in the British Museum (EA20791). It belongs to the Predynastic period, c3200 BC. This shows the underside with a giraffe and a bird. A giraffe is often shown in conjunction with birds on Predynastic items such as knife handles. The bird is probably the northern ground hornbill. The other side shows a lion and vulture preying on dead bodies. The original is published in Peet, T. Eric, 1915. 'The Art of the Predynastic Period' In Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 88-94. The Wellcome slips reads: "Miss H. K. George, 11 Windsor Terrace, Clifton, per Mr. G. Clark, Flax Bourton, Somerset. 22/2/1926".

Bibliography

Anonymous. 1996. The face of Egypt: Swansea Festival exhibition: 5 October 1996–5 January 1997. Swansea: Glynn Vivian Art Gallery. [Cat. 257]