Skip to main content

Scorpion paletter: E.8.1898

Current Location: Gallery 20

Titles

Scorpion paletter

Maker(s)

Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Stone grinding palette in the form of a scorpion. Scorpions could be protective or threatening. They commonly appear during the early dynastic period. They are possibly a reference to the 'Scorpion King' who ruled before the first king of Egypt whose name that we have- Narmer. This type of object is called a 'pallette' and was used for grinding natural substances such as charcoal for makeup. During this early period they also seem to have served a religious or symbolic purpose.

Measurements and weight

Height: 17 cm
Length: 23.5 cm

Find spot

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1898) by Egyptian Research Account

Dating

Predynastic
Early Dynastic
About -3000 - About -2500

Materials used in production

Greywacke

Techniques used in production

Carved

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: E.8.1898
Primary reference Number: 49548
Oldadmincategory: S

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 25 February 2020

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Antiquities

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Scorpion paletter" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/49548 Accessed: 2024-04-26 07:48:24

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/49548 |title=Scorpion paletter |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-26 07:48:24|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-49548

More objects and works of art you might like

An image of Figurine

Glazed Scorpion

Accession Number: E.18.1898

An image of Figurine

Stone Scorpion

Accession Number: E.11.1898

An image of Amulet

Amulet

Accession Number: Loan Ant.103.684

An image of Ringstone

Ringstone

Accession Number: CG 381

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...

University of Cambridge Museums logo
Cambridge City Council logo
Arts Council England Logo
Research England logo