Among the treasures of ancient Egypt, few artifacts are as charming and intriguing as the little blue-green ceramic hippos. Crafted from faience, a glazed material that symbolized water, fertility, and rebirth, these figures were more than decorative trinkets. They carried deep meaning in Egyptian belief and were often placed in tombs to accompany the dead into the afterlife.

The hippopotamus was both feared and revered. Along the Nile, real hippos could overturn boats and damage crops, making them symbols of chaos and danger. Yet, because they thrived in the life-giving waters of the river, they also came to represent renewal and fertility. Some tomb hippopotamuses even had their legs deliberately broken, ensuring their protective power couldn’t turn destructive. The hippo also represented the Egyptian goddess Taweret. 

One of the most famous examples is “William the Hippo,” a faience figurine from the Middle Kingdom now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His vivid turquoise glaze and delicate painted reeds remind us how much symbolism the Egyptians infused into their artistry—balancing respect for the dangerous hippopotamus with its association to life, water, and rebirth.