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Erotic figurine

Late Period–Ptolemaic Period
600–300 BC
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 134
The small crouching figure slings a huge phallus over his shoulder. The identity of the figure is unclear, but often the figure is identifiable as a child-god, probably Harpokrates. The type is connected with a complex of informal statuary including many ithyphallic figures known from the Late and Ptolemaic Periods. In general these informal figurines are thought to be connected with festivals celebrating a divine birth.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Erotic figurine
  • Period: Late Period–Ptolemaic Period
  • Date: 600–300 BC
  • Geography: From Egypt
  • Medium: Faience
  • Dimensions: H: 4.7 × W: 3.5 × D. 2 cm (1 7/8 × 1 3/8 × 13/16 in.)
  • Credit Line: Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915
  • Object Number: 30.8.163
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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