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Well Modeled Terracotta Egyptian Fertility Figure
Circa 7th-1st Century BC
Description: A Late-Ptolemaic Period naked female fertility figure. She sits with slightly bent arms at her side and her thighs spread. She has well formed breasts, thin torso with rounded belly and full hips exaggerated in size. Her face is well modeled with eyes, brows, cosmetic lines, nose and mouth. She wears a thick bobbed plaited wig. Smooth beige clay. Custom wood stand.
Large numbers of such figurines have been found in tombs, houses and shrines dedicated to Hathor. It was originally believed these figures were erotic burial offerings in men’s tombs, referred to as ‘concubines for the dead’. However, due to the emphasis on the lower portion of the female’s body with little concern for limbs, bust and face, it is more likely these were women’s offerings to ensure fertility. Those found among men’s burial goods may have been to encourage rebirth and procreation. FOT Inv: 189.0016
Length: 2.25 in. (6 cm)
Condition: Intact as shown. Top of head is recessed and the figure is broken away at the back. Parts of the figure blackened.
Provenance: Formerly in a private European collection assembled between 1918-1940. A collector’s tag is affixed at the bottom, collector’s number: 174.
Reference: See MANNICHE (Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt, 1987) for nearly identical figurine from the British Museum.
Background: Most female fertility figures lack the lower portion if not all of their legs. This may have been a matter of technical design, or in keeping with the concubine theory a means to keep a woman submissive, unable to walk away.
Price: SOLD
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