Fragment
c. 1550 BC - c. 1077 BC
Place of origin |
In Egyptian mythology, Heh was the god of Infinity or Eternity. He is often depicted as a frog or frog-headed, the frog being a symbol of fertility and rejuvenation to the Egyptians. Otherwise, Heh is shown as a kneeling human figure, holding in each hand a notched palm stem, the hieroglyphic symbol for ‘year’; the notches represented years. These palm stems were often shown with a shen-ring, the representation of eternity, or a frog, the Heiroglyphic symbol for ‘ten thousand’, at their base – all symbols relating to infinity and longevity. The image of a kneeling Heh itself acted as the hieroglyphic value for ‘one million’.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Glazed composition. |
Brief description | Fragment of a shallow bowl, blue glazed composition with painted black decoration, Egypt, New Kingdom |
Physical description | Four fragments of a blue glazed composition shallow bowl with black painted interior, reattached together. The central decoration depicts the God Heh in typical pose: human-form, kneeling and holding a notched palm stem in each hand, and with an ankh sign looped around the wrist. The base of the palm stem is capped with symbols of both the frog and shen ring. The representation is above a design of lotuses. Surrounding this central figurative design is a geometric band of radiating lines, and an external border of black dots. The exterior of the bowl is undecorated. |
Dimensions |
|
Styles | |
Marks and inscriptions |
|
Credit line | Given by Mrs Frederic Watt |
Summary | In Egyptian mythology, Heh was the god of Infinity or Eternity. He is often depicted as a frog or frog-headed, the frog being a symbol of fertility and rejuvenation to the Egyptians. Otherwise, Heh is shown as a kneeling human figure, holding in each hand a notched palm stem, the hieroglyphic symbol for ‘year’; the notches represented years. These palm stems were often shown with a shen-ring, the representation of eternity, or a frog, the Heiroglyphic symbol for ‘ten thousand’, at their base – all symbols relating to infinity and longevity. The image of a kneeling Heh itself acted as the hieroglyphic value for ‘one million’. |
Collection | |
Accession number | 2042-1877 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created | November 19, 1998 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest