An egyptian copper alloy striding hippopotamus. Middle Kingdom, Dynasty XII, circa 1985-1773 B.C. Christie's Images Ltd. 2008

The rounded animal with protruding eyes and flaring nostrils, an incised line indicating the mouth, with small rounded ears and short tail, the underside of the feet with tangs for attachment, mounted - 3¾ in. (8.5 cm.) long - Estimate  £150,000 - £200,000 ($258,750 - $345,000)

Provenance: Collection of Madame Marion Schuster, Lausanne, and thence by descent to Madame Antoinette Schuster: sold Sotheby's London, 10 July 1990, lot 317.
Collection of Heidi Vollmoeller, Zurich: sold Christie's London, 29 October 2003, lot 361.

Notes: Although delightful and charming to the modern eye, the hippopotamus was both dreaded and revered by the ancient Egyptians. These enormous gluttonous beasts were hazards in the daily life of Egyptians, as they attacked fishing boats and other river craft, destroyed the river banks and laid waste to nearby crops. The hippopotamus was also thought to be encountered on the journey into the afterlife, as crossing the river was a metaphor for the passage from one life into the next. As such, the hippopotamus was a formidable beast that the Egyptians felt needed to be appeased and restrained in both this life and the next.

This hippopotamus can be compared to the corpus of faience hippopotami which were generally interred in tombs, where they could be symbolically destroyed in order to ensure the safe passage of the tomb owner to resurrection. However, no such ancient and intentional damage is evident in the above example, the excellent state of preservation of which suggests it served another purpose.

The function may be suggested by the material from which it was created. Recent studies have found that copper alloy was widely employed for statuettes in the late Middle Kingdom. These images include not only depictions of Pharaohs and courtiers but also animals, such as the crocodile in the Staatliche Sammlung Ägyptischer Kunst, Munich (ÄS 6080). The hippopotamus, like the crocodile, had cult centres in the Fayoum, where most of the late Middle Kingdom cupreous statuary is assigned. This hippopotamus adds to a small number of rare animal sculptures in this material.

Christie's. Antiquities. 13 October 2008. London, King Street  - www.christie's.com