Female Figure
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
These three figurines represent two women and a man. They resemble the group painted on the Jar with Boat Design in a nearby case. In the scene on the jar, the larger female figure with upraised arms appears to be celebrating a ritual in the presence of the two smaller figures.
The bird-like faces on two of these figurines probably represent human noses, the source of the breath of life. The dark patch on the larger female’s head and the white paint on the male’s head and shoulders represent hair, also a human trait. All three figurines wear white skirts, indicating high-status individuals.
MEDIUM
Clay, pigment
DATES
ca. 3650 B.C.E.–3300 B.C.E.
PERIOD
Predynastic Period, Naqada IIa Period
DIMENSIONS
8 3/4 x 1 9/16 x 2 in. (22.2 x 3.9 x 5.1 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
07.447.501
CREDIT LINE
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Terracotta figurine of woman. Head missing. High narrow waist, gracefully curving to pointed shoulders. No arms. Small breasts. Long legs, without feet, peg-shaped, their separation indicated by very shallow groove behind. "Steatopygy" pronounced; torso flat. Fine buff pottery, painted dark red on body, whitish, indicating cloth, from hips down to "below knees"; black dots on left breast.
Condition: Head missing. White paint largely rubbed off.
CAPTION
Female Figure, ca. 3650 B.C.E.–3300 B.C.E. Clay, pigment, 8 3/4 x 1 9/16 x 2 in. (22.2 x 3.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 07.447.501. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.07.447.501_erg456_2013.jpg)
IMAGE
installation,
CUR.07.447.501_erg456_2013.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015
"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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we welcome any additional information you might have.
How do we know this is a woman?
Great question! Representations of female figures with highly abstracted forms occur throughout most of the Predynastic Period. On statuettes of this period, the legs are usually not articulated and the faces are beaklike. However, features like the breasts on the left figure help identify the sex of the piece. The symbolism, function, and identity of the figure are not certain. However, similar female figures painted on Predynastic vessels appear to be goddesses, because they are always larger than the male "priests" shown with them. Perhaps represents a priestess or a goddess dancing or performing ritualized mourning at a funeral ritual.
The figure on the right is of a man. His form is more box shaped with bird type head. There is a bulge in between his legs which also indicates that it is a
male.
