Detail of the Feeding Calves Relief in the Brooklyn Museum, January 2010

Relief, Feeding Calves

One of the most unusual scenes of daily life from el Amarna, this block depicts a herdsman thrusting his hand down the throat of a tethered cow. He may be force-feeding the animal or helping it digest its food. Above the cow we can see traces of three more animals and, at the far left, part of a much larger bovine, perhaps the mother cow.

Medium: Limestone, painted

Geographical Locations:

Place made: Amarna, Egypt

Place found: Hermopolis, Egypt

Dates: ca. 1352-1336 B.C.E.

Dynasty: late XVIII Dynasty

Period: New Kingdom, Amarna Period

Dimensions: 9 1/16 x 21 1/4 in. (23 x 54 cm)

Collections: Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Amarna Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

Accession Number: 60.197.4

Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Text from: www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/3697/Relief...