Definition and Use(s) –
This object is a small statuette of a hippopotamus (popularly called “William”) molded in faience. William was buried in the tomb of the Pharaoh Seneb II. He was a charm to give the Pharaoh the ability to regulate and restrain hippos, as they might be a problem during his journey to the underworld. William represents lots of different parts of Egyptian culture, like their beliefs. He also is a good example of a statue made of faience which is basically glazed quartz pottery.
Geographical origin
William was found in the tomb of Pharaoh Seneb II in Egypt, Meir, Tomb B3 pit 1 in a dig called ‘Khashaba excavations’ in 1910. He was created during the Middle Kingdom period of Ancient Egypt between 1961–1878 B.C.
Techniques of manufacture –
William is made from faience. It is a ceramic material primarily made of ground quartz. The Egyptians used various colorants for the glazes, including copper minerals, which produced the most commonly seen color turquoise, like William.
These dry ingredients were ground into a fine powder, then mixed with water to create a thick paste.The paste can then be modeled by hand or pressed into fired-clay molds; wet faience can also be worked into a slab by shaking and patting. Once dry, the pieces must be fired in a kiln (between 870º C and 920º C) to reveal their brilliant color. There are cracks in William’s glazed surface but they don’t go all the way through. They probably happened when this statuette was fired and then cooled. Since the body and the glaze possibly cooled down at different speeds, the glaze cracked. These cracks were probably not very visible at first, but over time they became more visible.
Composition and iconography
Although it is a depiction of a huge animal, William is very small; only 11.2 cm x 20 cm (could fit into the palm of a hand). Aside from the contrast in the size of William versus the size of an actual hippopotamus, the form of the statuette is fairly realistic in depicting a hippopotamus.
In Ancient Egypt, the hippopotamus was a force of nature that needed to be controlled, both in this life and the next. Hippopotamus figurines are common finds in Middle Kingdom tombs. It was believed that they could help to ensure the rebirth of the deceased.Hippopotamuses were creatures to be feared. Huge, with particularly large mouths and powerful jaws, they can move much more quickly than their size and shape may suggest. They were considered dangerous hazards and represented the destructive power of the natural world, chaos, and evil. The beast might also be encountered on the waterways in the journey to the afterlife. As such, the hippopotamus was a force of nature that needed to be propitiated and controlled, both in this life and the next (a role which is hinted in William’s blue glaze and the lotus flowers painted on his body). Lotuses are river plants that were often found in the marshes along the Nile. They symbolize regeneration and rebirth within Egyptian culture (lotus flowers close every night and open again in the morning) and link to life and rebirth in the afterlife. When Senabi II was buried with William, he was essentially buried with the key to controlling the Nile River
William arrived at the MET Museum as one piece. However, he was missing three legs, which were thought to have been purposefully broken off in ancient times. The ancient Egyptians believed that depictions of living creatures could magically come alive, so his legs were broken to protect its owner. Every element of William’s aesthetics represents an element of the Nile – its plants, its blue color, its animals, and its need to be controlled. William represents more than a hippopotamus – he represents the Ancient Egyptian’s obsession with all aspects of the Nile River, from its predictable flooding to the fear associated with the massive animals of the Nile and the afterlife.
Comparative items
The concept of the afterlife Egypt, for the most part, imagined it as a paradise where one lived eternally. Tombs included personal belongings as well as food and drink for the soul in the afterlife. These items are known as ‘grave goods’ and have become an important resource for modern-day archaeologists in identifying the owners of tombs, dating them, and understanding Egyptian history. The primary purpose of grave goods was not so to show off the deceased person’s status, but to provide the dead with what they would need in the afterlife. For example Pharaohs might be buried with boats. The Pharaoh Khufu built the Great Pyramid at Giza as his tomb, and buried next to it was an enormous ship (Khufu ship), nearly 45 metres long, archaeologists think it was a solar barge (a ritual vessel) to carry the Pharaoh with the sun god Ra across the heavens.
This links to William, his inclusion in the Pharaoh’s tomb was to act as a symbol of the Pharaoh’s power, however due to the egyptians belief that William might come to life, his legs were broken to protect the Pharaoh.
William was excavated by Sayyid Pasha Khashaba in May 1910. The object is one of a pair found in the burial chamber of the Senbi II at Meir. In 1917, the figure was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, by gift of Edward S. Harkness (where it is still on display). The object was first dubbed ‘William’ by Captain H M Raleigh, who wrote in the British magazine ‘Punch’ in March 1931 that he and his family have an obscure color print of the hippopotamus that they ‘love and revere… with an intensity bordering on the pagan’ and that ‘has the casting vote in all family disputes, and in his calm dispassionate way orders our goings out and comings in.’. The story of William the oracle was well received: the Met reproduced it in their Bulletin the same year, and William soon became the museum’s unofficial mascot. He remains a popular exhibit to this day.
Sources
“The Middle and New Kingdoms.” Egypt: A Short History, by ROBERT L. TIGNOR, Princeton University Press, PRINCETON; OXFORD, 2010, pp. 51–79. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7rjf4.8. Accessed 22 Apr. 2020.
SALAMEH, FRANCK. “Egypt.” In The Other Middle East: An Anthology of Modern Levantine Literature, 274-316. NEW HEAVEN; LONDON: Yale University Press, 2017. Accessed April 30, 2020. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1z27j97.10.
metmuseum.org. Accessed April 30, 2020. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544227.
Mark, Joshua J. “Ancient Egypt.” Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, April 27, 2020. https://www.ancient.eu/egypt/.
“The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt : Shaw, Ian, 1961- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, January 1, 1970. https://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryofa00shaw.
“Hippopotamus (‘William’) – Google Arts & Culture.” Google. Google. Accessed April 30, 2020. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/hippopotamus-william/xwFv2aAnGM3FBQ?hl=en.
metmuseum.org. Accessed April 30, 2020. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mking/hd_mking.htm.
