Baboon statuette

The bronze statuette depicts a Hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) holding his hands in an adoring attitude, while his left leg is striding forward. The baboon was the sacred animal and manifestation of the god Thoth. The owner of the statuettes representing the god hoped to benefit from their magical powers when identified with the god, but they could also be seen as a sign of honour to the god. Thoth was the god of writing and the protector of scribes, so the statuette, which may have been an amulet, was probably made for a scribe. However, the pedestal also offers the possibility of placing the object in a Thot sanctuary.

Placed in its owner’s tomb, the statuette could be a support for the afterlife, for rebirth. Thot’s role in the afterlife was crucial. According to the best-known funerary text, the Book of the Dead, which provides guidance in the afterlife, during the so-called Weighing of the Heart, Thoth, as the scribe of the gods, recorded the results of the weighing. The lunar crescent and full moon headdress on the top of the animal’s head refers to the relationship of the baboons and Thot to the moon. The baboon’s relationship with the sun is also important in the context of renewal. The animal greets the sunrise in the morning with a peculiar ritual thus they were thought to possess a special knowledge that could support the deceased in their transformation from Osiris to Ra and in rebirth.