Beschrijving
From around 4400 BC stone palettes made of siltstone, providing a flat surface on which body pigments could be ground, were deposited in ancient Egyptian burials. Between 3300–3000 BC, however, they were transformed into ritual objects with images associated with kingship carved in shallow relief on both sides. The most famous examples were excavated at the site of Hierakonpolis in southern Egypt and include the Narmer Palette (now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo) and this example, the Two Dog Palette. Both objects are decorated with felines with long snaking necks – ‘serpopards’ – that encircle the central grinding area. Those on the Two Dog Palette lick the body of a gazelle. Such fabulous creatures are also depicted on contemporary objects from Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).
