Bronze statuette of Oxyrhynchus fish: date uncertain

The classical city took its name from the long-snouted Oxyrhynchus fish (the name means ‘sharp-nosed’), of which there was a local cult in the Egyptian manner. A figurine shows the fish faced by a worshipper.

Since the start of the Islamic period, the town has been known as el-Bahnasa or Behnesa.

We are unable to supply an image of the statuette shown in the Ashmolean exhibit, but here is one just as pretty:

An oxyrhynchus fish looks on disapprovingly at the activities on POxy: Oxyrhynchus Online!, the Papyrus Project’s online resource of things Oxyrhynchite.

Intro