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Past Exhibitions
| Gifts of the Nile
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Scientific analysis is decoding the rich variety of materials and methods of construction used in objects like this figure of the household god Bes (about 600
bc, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1995.13). Bes is made of Egyptian blue, a material like faience whose malleability allows an
extraordinary level of detail. Some decorative componentsthe yellow spots on the cheetah skin thrown over his back and the red highlights forming the ear ornaments, tongue, and beltwere colored independently before being attached. The xero-radiograph (left) provides specific clues about the fabrication. The small white bubbles are characteristic for the molding process, and the abrupt changes in the contours on the interior indicate the head was molded separately. The ears are solid and were added separately; the white line above the ear on the proper left is a crack. Because the surface of the rim is more regular than that of the walls deep within the figure, tools must have been used to smooth the rim.
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