用成排的野生动物装饰的梳子 - 美国大都会艺术博物馆展品查阅

品名（中）	用成排的野生动物装饰的梳子
品名（英）	Hair Comb Decorated with Rows of Wild Animals
入馆年号	1930年，30.8.224
策展部门	埃及艺术（Egyptian Art）
创作者
创作年份	公元前 3200 - 公元前 3100
创作地区	来自于: 埃及（From: Egypt）
分类
尺寸	h. 5.5 厘米 (2 3/16 in); w. 3.9 厘米 (1 9/16 in); th. 0.5 厘米 (3/16 in)
介绍（中）	埃及史前末期制作的雕刻精美的象牙梳子和刀柄展示了埃及艺术家甚至在古王国之前就已经达到的高标准。这把梳子可能是生活在大约 5，200 年前的精英人士的葬礼设备的一部分。梳子的部分牙齿现在不见了，沿着底部边缘可以看到。详细的装饰表明它是一个礼仪物品，而不仅仅是整理头发的工具。两侧是水平排列的动物形象，这是后来埃及艺术中熟悉的空间组织。这些动物包括大象和蛇;涉水鸟和长颈鹿;土狼;牛;也许还有野猪。这些生物在其他雕刻象牙工具上的类似排列表明，动物的排列和选择并非随意。大象踩蛇表明，这部分场景是象征性的。许多非洲民族的神话将大象和蛇与宇宙的创造联系在一起。这把梳子的最上排可能象征着一个创造性的神，其余的动物都归功于他们的存在。
介绍（英）	Finely carved ivory combs and knife handles produced toward the end of Egypt's prehistory demonstrate the high standards Egyptian artists had achieved, even before the Old Kingdom. This comb may have been part of the funeral equipment of an elite person who lived about 5,200 years ago. Parts of the comb's teeth, now missing, can be seen along the bottom edge. The detailed decoration suggests that it was a ceremonial object, not just an instrument for arranging the hair. On both sides are figures of animals in horizontal rows, a spatial organization familiar from later Egyptian art. The animals include elephants and snakes; wading birds and a giraffe; hyenas; cattle; and perhaps boars. Similar arrangements of these creatures on other carved ivory implements suggest that the arrangement and choice of animals were not haphazard. Elephants treading on snakes suggest that this part of the scene was symbolic. The mythologies of many African peoples associate elephants and serpents with the creation of the universe. The uppermost row of this comb may symbolize a creative deity to whom the rest of the animals owe their existence.