Dancing Dwarfs.

 This artefact, discovered inside a tomb of a young girl called Hapy, shows three dwarfs in a dancing stance. Each one of them is standing on a round base with anklets on their legs.

As this is a child’s toy, a system of strings threaded through holes and around a pulley makes the figures dance. Depicted with a certain degree of realism, the bodies are shown deformed, the legs are bowed, and the faces express exertion. They are wearing different types of necklaces.

The Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, ca. 1991-1802 BC. Carved Ivory, from Al List. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.