Statuette of the god Thoth as a baboon

The hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) was the second animal sacred to Thoth, the god of the moon and of wisdom, the primary one being the ibis (see above). This figurine is remarkable for the finely-worked rendering of the baboon’s fur and for the fact that it was once inlaid with other materials. It is therefore unlikely to have been a simple votive statuette and was probably a cult image in a small shrine. The baboon crouches in characteristic pose on a shield-shaped base, his front paws resting on his knees. His upper body is erect and he gazes straight ahead. His face is dominated by the prominent snout and by the eyes, which are inlaid in red and black glass. His mane falls to his shoulders and his upper body is covered with a mantle of fur. His long tail curves around the right half of his buttocks. His feet and hands are rendered in careful detail, as are his genitals, visible between the splayed hindquarters. His buttocks were once inlaid, perhaps with red glass, but this is now missing. Around his neck he wears a rectangular pectoral, which was also once inlaid. A hole in the top of his skull suggests that the animal originally wore a crown, probably in the shape of the crescent and full moon. Traces of gold are clearly visible in the hole, suggesting that the crown, and possibly also the pectoral, were made of gold, or at least gilded. Baboon figurines often wear pectorals, which generally bear an image of a barge with the motif of the full and crescent moon or the eye of Horus.

D. Wildung – S. Schoske, Entdeckungen. Ägyptische Kunst in Süddeutschland, Ausstellungskatalog Bayerische Landesbank München (München, Mainz 1985) 82 Nr. 62 Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, Katalog 101 Meisterwerke (Basel 2022) 68f. Nr. 22