Inv. Scu 2937

The statue, carved from a single block of grey marble (Bardiglio di Carrara), depicts a baboon (cynocephalus) seated with its fore paws legs resting on its knees; the sex is visible between the wide-apart rear legs. The animal has a massive head with small ears ; the now-empty eye sockets most likely held eyeballs made in another material. The fur covering the upper section of the body is rendered as a smooth mantle.

The inscription in Greek letters KEPΔΩN carved on the front of the base undoubtedly refers to the dedicator of the statue.

The work is a Roman imitation of Egyptian baboons such as those, much bigger, dedicated by the Pharaoh Nectanebo II also displayed in the Sala Egizia.

The provenance of the statue is unknown; however, similarities with the two baboons of Nectanebo II, which were found in Rome in the Iseum Campense, suggest that also the statue illustrated here was once displayed in this sanctuary.