Willliam

Last week, I went to New York City for the first time in 25 years. My husband loves ancient Egyptian artifacts and architecture even more than me, so among the sites we saw in the Big Apple was the Egyptian wing of the Metropolitican Museum of Art.

I had never heard of William, who I now know is the beloved unofficial mascot of The Met. All I did was look over early in our self-guided tour and see a little blue hippopotamus figurine created by someone in ancient Egypt 4000 or so years ago and feel my heart go pitter patter pitter patter.

Yeah, sure, hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the world. They have killed MANY people.

BUT LOOK AT WILLIAM!! Behold him!

The little blue hippo figurine was made in Egypt and placed in a tomb – tomb B3, to be exact – to somehow magically guarantee the rebirth of the deceased in a beautiful afterlife, and the deceased would have been some royal someone or some person that was really liked by a royal someone. The little sculpture is from the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, the reign of Senwosret I to Senwosret II (ca. 1961–1878 B.C.). The info board near William – which does, indeed, say “William” as his name – notes that he was probably found during excavations in 1910 – that curators aren’t sure when makes me worry that William wasn’t acquired in a totally appropriate way. Anyway, the item became part of The Met collection in 1917.

In 1931, humor and satire magazine Punch claimed to have received a letter from Captain H. M. Raleigh, who wrote that his family owned a framed color print of the Met’s hippo and that they had named him “William.” The letter claimed William had prophetic abilities and, therefore, they had to consult him on all important decisions, including vacation plans.

The Met republished the Punch story in the Museum’s Bulletin, (the link goes to the reproduction of the story on the Met’s web site) and the name William caught on with the staff and the public. Note, however, that it’s likely not a true story, given the source – but it is an adorable story.

Again, I didn’t know any of this when I first saw him – not about his status at the Met, not about his popularity, not about his supposed psychic abilities, none of it. All I knew was that I was deeply in love.

As we continued through the exhibits, I noticed that there were a fair number of little hippoes all around the Egyptian wing of the Met. Just a few weren’t blue. And I know that, officially, they aren’t William.

But aren’t they? Aren’t they ALL William?

So, yes, I took photos of every hippo I could find in the Egyptian wing, noting to Stefan each time, “Look! There’s another one!”

I’m sure he was thrilled with my little outbursts and not at ALL embarrassed.

At last, we got to the gift shop – museum gift shops are among my favorite places in the whole wide world – and Stefan said, “There’s your hippo.” And there, indeed, he was. I gasped. I held back a squeal. William! A ceramic (I think?) Christmas ornament! Mine for the purchase. Well, mine for the begging of Stefan to purchase for me please oh please oh please.

Now I knew that William was truly something special to more than just me at the Met. But how special? Just a cute little something to buy? Oh, no: so much more: when we bought him, I commented to the cashier how much I loved him and she whipped out her phone to show me a video: SHE DRESSED AS WILLIAM FOR HALLOWEEN!!!! And she danced around the exhibit hall in her costume! She said it was hot AF, but she didn’t care, and I can tell that by her joyful dance in her William onesie. I can’t find the video anywhere online, so I guess it’s not public. But she’s my hero now.

There was another William in the gift shop, a felt William. I took a photo of Felt William for my friend that teaches felting on Viking cruises. Each of her classes focuses on the making of something – a gnome, a penguin, a sheep – that is then the passenger’s own to keep. It’s usually something at least marginally connected to a site that will be visited by that particular cruise. It’s clear that William needs to be among her offerings, even if they don’t go anywhere near Egypt.

Because HAVE YOU SEEN WILLIAM?!? Everyone should have one.

I went to New York City for Tom Hiddleston. I threw him over for a blue hippo from ancient Egypt. Sorry, Tom.

As for my William, my hard-sidded Christmas ornament William, I will, indeed, probably put him on my Christmas tree, once we have a tree. But I don’t think William can go into the Christmas ornament box when we take the tree down after New Year’s Eve. My William, me thinks, must be on year-round display. He must be there, on my mantle, when he’s not on the tree, looking upon the room with his calm, even smug, look, knowing all that I do not know.

He’s there now, in fact.