Censored pig cookie bum

Flickr user Carol Browne bought a Chinese pig cookie for New Year's 2007 from a local Asian shop in Vancouver, Canada. Guess where the bakers chose to insert the red bean paste ...

See more pictures of the pig cookie!



Censored pig bum
Originally uploaded by Carol Browne

Pig cake, Shanghai

A probably very yummy cake in the shape of a black piggy - with a ribbon! I wonder what it says on its back ...
Photographed by meckleychina on Flickr.


Pig of the Day - Jun 09, 2007 - Shanghai
Originally uploaded by meckleychina

Pigs in the Pergamon Museum

Today I visited the Pergamon Museum here in Berlin. Of course, I scanned all the exhibits searching for pig motifs, and I indeed found a few.

I apologise for the bad quality of some (most) of the photos. Bad lighting conditions, no flash, handheld camera, crappy white balance, and all that.



Above: Double vessel in the form of two little pigs, Assyria, 8th/7th century BCE. They are likely to be domestic pigs, which makes them quite interesting - pigs didn't seem to be all that common in Assyrian arts and crafts. And is there some particular meaning behind the double shape?



Above and below: Boar's head, Babylon, 1st century BCE/year 12 of Nebukadnezar II. It's hard to tell what exact meaning the boar might have in this case.



Below: This piece was described only collectively as one of a number of "riders and animal figures", but it can hardly be anything but a boar. 2nd-1st century BCE, Babylon. The hairiness of the pig suggests that it's likely to be a wild boar.





Below: An object from Luristan, a province in western Iran inhabited by nomadic tribes. These objects are usually offerings from graves. Somewhere between 8th/7th - mid-3rd century BCE. I'm not sure about its function. The similar piece with a deer above it and the nomadic culture of its makers suggest a hunting theme.



Below: A wall relief plate with a jumping boar, Iraq (Ktesiphon area), 7th-6th century. From the intrados of a house in Umm az-Za'âtir. I'm guessing this piece is related to hunting, as well.



Below: Hunting bowl with a Sassanid great king attacked by a boar, Iran, 7th century. Silver, partly gilded. The wild boar as a dangerous adversary. Of course, the king will be victorious in the end ...



Below: A seal stone (to the left) with a wild boar and Pahlavi inscription, Iran, 5th-6th century. To the right is an enlarged image of its impression. I wish I knew what the incription says.