Faience statuette of a hippopotamus, Middle Kingdom - 12th Dynasty, 1981–1885 BC, Egypt.

This well-formed statuette of a hippopotamus demonstrates the Egyptian artist’s appreciation for the natural world. It was molded in faience, a ceramic material made of ground quartz. Beneath the blue-green glaze, the body was painted with the outlines of river plants, symbolizing the marshes in which the animal lived. - metmuseum.org