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Bull Palette (E11255)

Bull Palette (E11255) is a fragment of an Ancient Egyptian greywacke palette carved in low relief and used, at least in principle, as a cosmetic palette for grinding cosmetics. It dates to Naqada III, the final two centuries of the fourth millennium BC, immediately before the Early Dynastic Period. Only part of the original object survives, and both sides are carved with different figures. The obverse shows a large circular fortified city identified by an interior hieroglyphic sign, while the reverse includes imagery that later became hieroglyphs, including a clenched fist, five standards, and figures such as hippopotamuses, the Sacred Ibis, the Horus-Falcon, and the thunderbolt of Min. It is in the collection of the Louvre, inventory no. E11255.

Bull Palette carved stone fragment showing a bull above a fallen figure and stepped scenes below.
Bull Palette, a carved stone fragment with a bull at the top and smaller figures arranged in tiers below.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0
Bull Palette carved relief showing a large bull over human figures with a woven border at the bottom.
Carved detail of the Bull Palette showing a bull above human figures.
January 2006 © ALFGRN · CC BY-SA 2.0
Bull Palette carved stone fragment showing a bull\'s head and forebody with a human figure reaching toward it.
Detail of the Bull Palette showing a bull’s head and forebody with a human figure reaching upward.
January 2006 © ALFGRN · CC BY-SA 2.0
Bull Palette fragment with a stylized animal head, vertical bars, and a scaly creature in low relief.
Fragment of the Bull Palette showing carved motifs in low relief, including an animal head, vertical bars, and a scaly figure.
July 2016 © · CC0
Carved stone fragment from the Bull Palette showing a stylized profile head with patterned hair, a detailed eye, and a curly beard split by a vertical crack.
Close-up of a carved head on the Bull Palette, with patterned hair and a textured beard divided by a prominent crack.
January 2006 © ALFGRN · CC BY-SA 2.0

Identification

TitleBull Palette
Alternative titlePalette celebrating a victory
Alternative titlePalette of the Celebration of Victory
Inventory numberE11255
Object typeAncient Egyptian cosmetic palette fragment

Historical context

CultureAncient Egypt
PeriodNaqada III (late Predynastic period, circa 3300–3100 BC; the final two centuries of the 4th millennium BC, immediately before the Early Dynastic/Thinite Period)

Creator

ArtistUnknown

Discovery and provenance

Museum collectionLouvre Museum

Location and ownership

Current locationLouvre Museum, Paris; Sully Wing, 2nd floor, Room 20, Showcase 2
Museum sectionSully Wing, 2nd floor, Room 20, Showcase 2

Physical characteristics

DecorationDecorated on both sides
Dimensions26.5 cm high; 14.5 cm wide
ConditionBroken fragment; only part of the upper half survives, with major losses and fractures; the right half is missing

Materials

MaterialGreywacke (Ancient Egyptian greywacke / grauwacke; possibly mudstone or schist according to one source)

Technique

TechniqueCarved and relief-decorated, with etched details; the relief is described as low relief / medium-low relief

Appearance

General compositionFragment of a palette with a ruler-bull motif, fortified cities, standards, and war imagery
Obverse imageryA bull representing the ruler crushes a warrior; beneath it are five nome standards ending in clenched hands holding a rope, and a partially preserved captive head at the bottom
Reverse imageryA similar ruler-bull motif appears at the top; below are two fortified cities shown as schematic plan-like enclosures with walls and buttresses, one larger than the other, containing a lion with a vessel, a bird, and related details; standards and an encircling rope also appear on this side
Preserved detailsPreserved fragments include a warrior’s head with eye, ear, beard, necklace cord, and stylized close-cropped hair, plus part of a leg with the knee broken away

Iconography and meaning

Main subjectBull overpowering a warrior, commonly interpreted as the ruler or king
Secondary motifsFortified city enclosures, a lion and vessel motif, a wading bird, five standards, and clenched hands or fists holding a rope
InterpretationThe imagery is probably war-related and may commemorate a military victory and the struggle for the unification of Upper Egypt or all Egypt by people from Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) and their allies
Hieroglyphic interpretationThe city-name motif has been read as archaic hieroglyphic writing; Schott read the "pot and lion" as "Ma - Nu" ("Lion Mountain")
Scholarly notesSeveral identifications are tentative or disputed, including the obverse/reverse assignment, the interpretation of the bull as a king, the captive’s identity, and the reading of the city signs

History and restoration

Preservation statusOnly the upper portion survives; both front and reverse are incompletely preserved

Other

Related objectNarmer Palette used for comparison

Significance

ImportanceConsidered one of the more important motifs in the palette corpus and part of the group of Predynastic palettes that anticipate hieroglyphic writing