Bitch Nursing Two Puppies
Unknown · Middle Kingdom, 2045-1680 BC
A small slab of limestone, ten centimetres long, carved in high relief with a dog lying on her side while two puppies press against her belly to feed. The carver has caught the slack, contented pose of the mother and the eager crowding of the young. Traces of colour survive: yellow ochre for the bodies, black for eyes and details, touches of red and pale green. The piece is thin and flat on the back, so it was meant to be seen from one side, perhaps set into a model or kept as a charming object in its own right.
Dogs were part of Egyptian life from the earliest times, as hunters, guards and companions; they appear under their owners' chairs in tombs and were sometimes given names and burials of their own. Scenes of animals suckling their young carried a sense of abundance and renewal that suited a tomb, and this little group may have served the same purpose in miniature. Its style places it in the Middle Kingdom, around 2000 BC. The Louvre bought it in 1949, and it sits here among the objects that show how Egyptians raised and cared for their animals.
Did You Know? Egyptian dogs had names, and tomb owners sometimes had their favourite hounds shown beneath their chairs.
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