Description

Rhomboidal Palette with Scorpion Relief
Tadashi Kikugawa Collection (formerly in German/Swiss private collection)
Unprovenanced
(Naqada IC - Naqada IIC ?)
34,2 x 10cm (1cm thick, 0,1cm relief height)
'schist' (graywacke)

Bibliography
P. Kaplony, Steingefasse... , 1968, 17-18 (cat. 4D), pl. 15.
D. Wildung - S. Schoske, Entdeckungen. Agyptische Kunst in Suddeutschland, München/Mainz, 1985
S. Hendrickx - D. Huyge - B. Adams, Le scorpion en silex du Musée royal de Mariemont, Cahiers de mariemont, 28-29, 1997-98, 7-22 (table 6, p. 31)
S. Hendrickx - M. Eyckerman, Decorated rhomboidal palettes from Predynastic Egypt in the Royal Museums for Art and History at Brussels, in pr., 2008

Cf. My page of King Scorpion (note 31).

Thanks to Mr. Tadashi Kikugawa for providing good resolution photographs and additional infos about his palette and for the permission to use them here.

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NOTE: Rhomboidal palettes are mainly diffused in Naqada I - early Naqada II.
The scorpion relief resembles the ones carved in relief on a private collection unprovenanced stone vessel (P. Kaplony, 1968, 13-14, cat. 2, pl. 12,14): they also show the animal's legs on both sides of the body (as seen from above), whereas on the vases from the Main deposit at Hierakonpolis (and in Late Predynastic inscriptions with Scorpion + Ka sign) only the legs on one side of the body are shown. Date should be late Naqada I (cf. the worm-like serpents carved on rhomboidal palettes) to early/mid Naqada II (B-C), unless the carving is later than the palette (?). Naqada III scorpions representations are more stylized, and during that period rhomboidal palettes are generally much rarer and smaller in size (Cf. Cialowicz, 1991).