Faience head of Arsinoe II From Naukratis, Egypt, 3rd century BC

 

Height: 6.000 cm

GR 1888.6-1.38 (Vases K 7)

Room 22: Alexander the Great

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A Queens Tour

Arsinoe II

Arsinoe II was a Greek Queen of Egypt from the Ptolemy family. She ruled with her husband, who was also her brother. Queens became very important during this time and some of the Ptolemaic queens even ruled on their own, without a king. Arsinoe was a popular queen during her lifetime, but became even more important after her death when she was worshipped as a goddess.

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The head originally came from a statue, the body of which is now missing, which was kept in a small shrine dedicated to the memory of Arsinoe. It is made of faience, a glassy substance usually made from grains of quartz or crystal, and natron (a type of salt).