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Head of a Queen or Goddess

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

The facial features of this head recur on sculpture dating from the end of Dynasty XXX until well into the Ptolemaic Period (305–30 B.C.). The subject here is either a queen or a goddess, but which one is uncertain because the headdress, which might have provided a clue, is lost.

MEDIUM Limestone
  • Place Made: Egypt
  • DATES ca. 230 B.C.E.
    PERIOD Ptolemaic Period
    DIMENSIONS 4 1/4 x 3 1/8 in. (10.8 x 7.9 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 86.226.32
    CREDIT LINE Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION One cream-colored crystalline limestone head of a queen wearing a tripartite echeloned-curl wig surmounted by a circlet with uraeus and plain tholus with a square hole on top. Brows and cosmetic lines are rendered in narrow plastic strips; upper eyelid rim outlined, deep orbital cavities; fine, straight nose with sharp back; pursed mouth below well-marked philtrum; small pointed chin; full throat; no trace of back pillar. Condition: Small, old, discolored chips in several places; recent chips on the left side of the tholus and on the uraeus which may be unfinished, never having had a head. Tip of nose missing.
    CAPTION Head of a Queen or Goddess, ca. 230 B.C.E. Limestone, 4 1/4 x 3 1/8 in. (10.8 x 7.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.226.32. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.86.226.32_NegA_print_bw.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, CUR.86.226.32_NegA_print_bw.jpg.
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