William the Faience Hippopotamus
"William", also known as "William the Hippo",[1] is an Egyptian faience hippopotamus statuette from the Middle Kingdom, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where it serves as an informal mascot of the museum. Found in a shaft associated with the Upper Egyptian tomb chapel of "The Steward, Senbi", in what is now Meir, William dates from c. 1961 BC – c. 1878 BC, during the reigns of Senusret I and Senusret II.[2] This 20 cm (8 in) figurine in Egyptian faience, a clay-less material, has become popular not only for his endearing appearance, but also because his defining characteristics illustrate many of the most salient facets of craft production in ancient Egypt during this time.
Standing Hippopotamus
c. 1961 BC – c. 1878 BC
11.2 cm × 7.5 cm × 20 cm (4.4 in × 3.0 in × 7.9 in)
William is only one of several objects associated with the tomb of "The Steward, Senbi", which were acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 1917. According to the Museum's Bulletin from that year, this hippopotamus is a "particularly fine example of a type found, in common with various other animal forms, among the funerary furnishings of tombs of the Middle Kingdom" and also an exemplary piece of Egyptian faience.[3] William may be seen in Gallery 111 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
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Name[edit]
In the early twentieth century, Captain H. M. Raleigh and his family owned a photograph of the hippopotamus, and began to refer to him as William. Raleigh published an article about the hippo for the magazine Punch on March 18, 1931, in which he wrote, "He is described on the back of the frame as "Hippopotamus with Lotus Flowers, Buds and Leaves, XII Dynasty (about 1950 BC), Series VII, Number i, Egyptian Faience;" but to us he is simply William."[7][8] The article was reprinted in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Bulletin in June 1931, and the name stuck.[7] In 1936 the Met released a book entitled, William and his Friends: A Group of Notable Creatures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[9] Since then, William has continued to appear in some museum logos and merchandise for both children and adults. The Met first began selling cast reproductions of William in the 1950s,[8] which today are manufactured by M. Hart Pottery.[10]
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