BaboonEarly Ptolemaic Period (circa 300 BCE)

On view:

Geffen Galleries, floor 1

Title: Baboon
Place Made: Egypt
Date Made: Early Ptolemaic Period (circa 300 BCE)
Medium: Limestone
Dimensions: 4 1/8 x 2 1/4 x 2 13/16 in. (10.32 x 5.56 x 7.14 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Varya and Hans Cohn
Accession Number: AC1992.152.63
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: Egyptian Art
Curatorial Notes: Thoth, the Egyptian god of writing and wisdom, could alternately be depicted as an ibis (often human-headed) or a baboon, as here. The base of this small and carefully carved limestone example is marked with squares, indicating that it was intended to be a sculptor’s model for larger works. Trial pieces of this type were made during different dynasties in Egypt (see also 51.25.3). In the Ptolemaic Period, at the beginning of Greek occupation, new proportions and variations of style were introduced, making it necessary for sculptors to revive and expand the practice of making preparatory models.
Provenance: Tigrane Pacha (d. 1904), Egypt. [Michel E. Abemayor (1912–1975), Gallery, New York]. Hans Cohn (1903–1994), Los Angeles, in 1966, gift 1992 to; LACMA.
Selected Bibliography: Thomas, Nancy, and Constantina Oldknow, eds. By Judgment of the Eye: The Varya and Hans Cohn Collection. Los Angeles: Hans Cohn, 1991.

Related Unframed

On view:

Geffen Galleries, floor 1

Title: Baboon
Place Made: Egypt
Date Made: Early Ptolemaic Period (circa 300 BCE)
Medium: Limestone
Dimensions: 4 1/8 x 2 1/4 x 2 13/16 in. (10.32 x 5.56 x 7.14 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Varya and Hans Cohn
Accession Number: AC1992.152.63
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: Egyptian Art
Curatorial Notes: Thoth, the Egyptian god of writing and wisdom, could alternately be depicted as an ibis (often human-headed) or a baboon, as here. The base of this small and carefully carved limestone example is marked with squares, indicating that it was intended to be a sculptor’s model for larger works. Trial pieces of this type were made during different dynasties in Egypt (see also 51.25.3). In the Ptolemaic Period, at the beginning of Greek occupation, new proportions and variations of style were introduced, making it necessary for sculptors to revive and expand the practice of making preparatory models.
Provenance: Tigrane Pacha (d. 1904), Egypt. [Michel E. Abemayor (1912–1975), Gallery, New York]. Hans Cohn (1903–1994), Los Angeles, in 1966, gift 1992 to; LACMA.
Selected Bibliography: Thomas, Nancy, and Constantina Oldknow, eds. By Judgment of the Eye: The Varya and Hans Cohn Collection. Los Angeles: Hans Cohn, 1991.