50-Finial of Thoth as a Baboon

The baboon was the animal manifestation of the Egyptian lunar gods, Khonsu of Thebes and Thoth of Hermopolis. The baboon was also associated with the sun based on its behavior. At dawn, baboons stretch, raise their front paws, and chatter. The Egyptians interpreted this singing and dancing as praising the sun god.

The finial depicts a squatting baboon with its front paws resting on its hind legs. Thoth wears a crown composed of a sun disk and crescent moon. Horizontal lines define the thick fur around the baboon’s ears and muzzle. A pectoral necklace hangs from the primate’s neck. The baboon sits on top of a shrine perched on a papyrus column, the bottom of which once fit into a staff.¹

MH

1. Weiss 2012, 817, no. 1148, pl. 53d. ↩︎