Fragment thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

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
  • Length: 12cm
  • Thickness of fabric thickness: 0.4cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
Transliteration
.
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

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Record createdNovember 19, 1998
Record URL
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