Anyone who has studied ancient Egyptian art will recognize several examples of purebred basenjis—dogs that meet all the visual criteria of the breed, tightly curled tails cementing their identification. Other canines have some basenji characteristics but are obviously mixes, mutts, pharaoh hounds, or Ibizan hounds—not true basenjis.
The purpose of this web site is to showcase the basenji in ancient Egyptian art; all other dogs have been relegated to a separate page.
Two pieces from the Roman Period, however, are difficult to categorize. These are the stelae of Hermene and of Atilion and his children. Both artifacts contain basenji-like animals that don't meet all of the visual criteria of the breed but certainly behave as do modern basenjis.
Skeeter resting on the sofa back—Notice that this typical basenji behavior is captured by the two Roman Period pieces below.
Photo from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
A stela is a grave marker, and based on the common elements that the stela of Hermene [left] shares with that of Atilion [below], one can assume that during the Roman Period, convention was to include certain items—dog, sofa, dead person, and falcon—shared by both. The canine sitting atop the sofa back has the thin build, long legs, and erect ears of a basenji. Notice, however, that it has a long thin tail curled at its side. This creature is meant to represent Anubis, the god who supervised the safe passage of a dead person's soul to the afterlife.
The Egyptians frequently represented Anubis in full animal form, the one important difference here being the tail. General consensus is that Anubis is a jackal, not a canine, and thus his depiction usually contains a fox-like brush rather than a dog-like tail. [For more information, see the Anubis Debate.]
Perhaps, however, the ancients enjoyed having little Anubises of their own sharing the house, and these animals were used as models for the two stelae. The "new" tails on these Anubises are a compromise—long and without the tight curl of the basenji model but minus the long hair of a jackal. That the animals' behavior is so typical of the breed today points to ancient basenjis acting as models for depictions of Anubis.
Photo from the Louvre Museum