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Head of a woman

Ptolemaic Period, early
332–290 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 134
Together the hairstyle and faience material suggest the original figure may have belonged to one of the women who belong to the entourage of Hathor and other great goddesses, often depicted in erotic groups along with Harpokrates and priests. The underlying religious themes have to do with impregnation of a goddess and birth of a new divine child. At festivals celebrating such unions and progeny these small images insistently focused attention on the essentiial sexual act, and in wishes for personal fertility also served as evocations of mythical precedents.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head of a woman
  • Period: Ptolemaic Period, early
  • Date: 332–290 BCE
  • Geography: Probably from Egypt
  • Medium: Faience
  • Dimensions: H. 3.9 cm (1 9/16 in.); W. 3.6 cm (1 7/16 in.); D. 3.8 cm (1 1/2 in.)
  • Credit Line: Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915
  • Object Number: 30.8.90
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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