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Name : Hippopotamus ( " William " )
What it is : A bright blue figurine of ahippopotamusmolded in faience , a glass ceramic material made partially out of ground quartz glass . The artefact is decorate with drawing of lotus flower , which grow in marshland and symbolize regeneration and rebirth .
The glossy, blue statuette is decorated with drawings of flowering lotuses, which symbolize regeneration and rebirth.
Where it was come up : Inside a barb consort with a grave chapel in Meir , anancient Egyptiancemetery located outside the metropolis of Asyut .
When it was made : Circa 1961 to 1878 B.C.
What it tells us about the past : Ancient Egyptians feared hippos ( Hippopotamus amphibius ) , take in them as dangerous and aggressive animate being , specially when provoke , according toThe Metropolitan Museum of Artin New York City . Thanks to these mostly herbivorous mammals ' insatiable appetence , they often wreaked mayhem on Fannie Farmer ' fields . In fact , one papyrus refers to a specially spoilt harvesting in which " the worm took half and the hippopotamus eat up the rest . "
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Hippo hunts were a uncouth sport among the ancient Egyptians , who would apply harpoons to snare the large creature , which were tie in with topsy-turvyness . By 3000 B.C. , depictions of kings successfully battle hippos became shopworn , as it was a way to show ruler overcoming chaos . However , due to overhunting , the last godforsaken hippos disappear from Egypt by the early nineteenth hundred , agree to The Met .
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This statuette , which measures about 8 inches by 5 inches ( 20 centimeters by 11 cm ) , is one of many examples of hippo sculptures crafted by ancient Egyptians . When it was discovered , three of its ramification were lack and were likely broken on design to keep it from doing harm in the afterlife , according toThe Met .
In 1931 , the artefact was dubbed " William " after the British humor magazinePunchran a cartoon about the hippo .
