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Female Figure

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

The majority of ancient Near Eastern female figures emphasize their fertility. Although the three terracotta (baked clay) figures here come from very different times and places, all are nude and two have overlarge, patterned pubic areas. Their faces are rudimentary, with little or no indication of a mouth. The copper figure, though very schematically modeled, suggests a real woman with pulled-back hair and a bulging belly, wearing a knee-length skirt and carrying an infant on her back. In contrast, the marble image, with its circular head, long neck, and U-shaped body, is reduced almost to abstraction.
CULTURE Cypriot
MEDIUM Terracotta, pigment
  • Possible Place Made: Cyprus
  • DATES ca. 1450-1200 B.C.E.
    PERIOD Late Bronze Age, Late Cypriot II Period
    DIMENSIONS 3 9/16 x 2 3/16 x 2 1/16 in. (9.1 x 5.5 x 5.3 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 22.12
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Mrs. Frederic H. Betts
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Cypriot. Female Figure, ca. 1450-1200 B.C.E. Terracotta, pigment, 3 9/16 x 2 3/16 x 2 1/16 in. (9.1 x 5.5 x 5.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Frederic H. Betts, 22.12. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.12_PS2.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 22.12_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2008
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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