The designer generally borrowed his subjects from the fauna or flora of the Nile valley.
A little case at Gizeh is carved in the shape of a couchant calf, the body being hollowed out, and the head and back forming a removable lid.

A spoon in the same collection represents a dog running away with an enormous fish in his mouth (fig.

246), the body of the fish forming the bowl of the spoon.

Another shows a cartouche springing from a full-blown lotus; another, a lotus fruit laid upon a bouquet of flowers (fig.

247); and here is a simple triangular bowl, the handle decorated with a stem and two buds (fig.