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Head of a Queen

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
Ptolemaic queens participated in many Egyptian religious rites, playing the standard role of Egyptian queens. Though they were ethnic Greeks, these queens took their duties within Egyptian religion seriously. In images they serve as musicians before the gods, just as queens had in Egypt for thousands of years.
MEDIUM Marble
  • Possible Place Made: Egypt
  • DATES 305-30 B.C.E.
    PERIOD Ptolemaic Period
    DIMENSIONS 5 5/16 x 4 5/16 x 4 3/4 in. (13.5 x 11 x 12 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 71.12
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Marble head of a queen wearing a heavy wig encircled by a fillet from which spring three uraei. The eyes were once inlaid. A back pillar extends up above the top of the head and partially covers the rear top portion of the head. The head is broken off diagonally at the neck. A few scholars have theorized that the triple uraeus identifies her a Cleopatra. Condition: Large chips in top of head and in left rear portion of wig. Smaller chips elsewhere in wig; edges of back pillar chipped; lower left eye-lid chipped; chips in face; two uraei chipped; inlays for eyes now missing.
    CAPTION Head of a Queen, 305-30 B.C.E. Marble, 5 5/16 x 4 5/16 x 4 3/4 in. (13.5 x 11 x 12 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 71.12. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 71.12_front_PS1.jpg)
    IMAGE front, 71.12_front_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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