Faience head of Arsinoe II
From Naukratis, Egypt, 3rd century BC
A Ptolemaic queen
This small faience head of a woman has a melon coiffure and
wears a floral wreath, pendants and earrings. The features of the
beautifully modelled head are so closely parallelled in portraits
on faience oinochoai and coins that it is possible to
identify it as a portrait of the Ptolemaic Queen of Egypt, Arsinoe
II (reigned 278-270 BC), wife and sister of Ptolemy II
Philadelphos.
From the time of Ptolemy II (285-246 BC) onwards, the
Hellenistic Greek rulers of Egypt were worshipped as deities in
their own lifetimes. This portrait head probably belonged to a
statuette of the Queen that was once dedicated at a sanctuary in
her honour.