Frog lamp

Heqet, represented as a frog, was an ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility associated with the last stages of the flooding of the Nile, and likewise with the germination of corn. The Egyptians also associated Heqet and the frog with resurrection, a connection that continued among the early Christians in Egypt. While the frog was a popular decoration on lamps of Hellenistic Egypt, comparable faience examples like this one have not been found, which suggests the possibility that this lamp is a modern forgery created for the burgeoning tourist market in Egypt in the nineteenth century. Faience objects, from tomb figurines to ornaments, were popular among tourists as readily available and relatively cheap souvenirs.