Zoomorphic palette

The palettes are found at burial sites, for example Abydos in the second half of the 4th millennium BC.

Examples of the animal types represented are turtles, fish, hippopotami, crocodiles, ducks, and elephants.

Other details of an animal, such as the fins on a fish, were also commonly depicted with incisions.

[4] In the Naqada II period the centre of these zoomorphic palettes is always left free of decoration to facilitate the functional use of the object.

Certain examples feature worn down and damaged centres, as well as staining from the pigment, due to their long history of use, possibly over several generations.