figure;
religious/ritual equipment
- Museum number
- 1888,0920.31
- Description
-
Terracotta statuette of a standing naked woman.
A naked female being, plump, with pendulous breasts, standing with her left arm bent, the hand placed in front of her hip, her right arm also bent, the hand raised with the fist clenched. Her hair is parted in the centre and curves down on each side in neatly arranged formal locks; at the rear it is brought back to a large and intricate flat bun. She wears ball earrings, a jewelled necklace of separate panels, and armlets, bracelets and anklets (the last may be the tops of low boots: no toes are indicated). There is summary treatment at the back, with the hair and the anklets (or boottops) shown; a small vent is pierced below the buttocks.
Hollow; two-piece mould; the area below the feet has been added after moulding. The moulding itself has left the rear part moved slightly to one side in relation to the front, giving the erroneous impression that the figure wears a narrow wreath. Micaceous orange-brown Nile silt; traces survive on the right foot of a white dressing, painted red and pink; a very little red colour remains in the hair at the back.
- Production date
- 1stC-2ndC
- Dimensions
-
Height: 13.50 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- BM Terracotta IV
Comparanda. Close, probably same mould-series: Bayer-Niemeier 1988: no. 254, dated first quarter of third century ad. Close: Bresciani 1976: pl. xxix:172 (head only), from Narmouthis in the Fayum; Petrie Museum uc34726; Galerie Günther Puhze Katalog 7, 1987: lot 120; Schürmann 1989: no. 1132, dated first half (second quarter) of third century ad; Van Wijngaarden 1958: no. 75. Close, but with large wreath: Besques 1992: no. 388, from Middle Egypt, dated beginning of third century ad; Christie’s Sale Catalogue, 8 December 1993: lot 110; Fischer 1994: no. 841, dated second half of third to beginning of fourth century ad. Similar hairstyle: Breccia 1934: no. 267, a head broken from a figure. Near (same stance, different hair): Edgar 1903a: pl. xxv:32079, an impression from a very large, splendid plaster mould (the lower arm was made separately); Graindor 1939: pl. xv:38, with a basket slung on her left arm. Near (same stance, different facial features and hair): Breccia 1934: no. 204. Near, with alien head: Vogt 1924: pl. lxxxii:3.
Bibliog. Walters 1903: C 646; Schürmann 1989: 300, no. 1132; Fischer 1994: 340, no. 841; Walker and Bierbrier 1997: 125, no. 121: Neronian date suggested.
- Location
- On display (G69/Balcony/dc7/shD)
- Acquisition date
- 1888
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1888,0920.31
