figurine
- Museum number
- 1981,1102.1
- Description
-
Ceramic figurine of a Mother Goddess, sitting in a basketwork chair and suckling a baby.
- Production date
- 2ndC
- Dimensions
-
Height: 145 millimetres
- Curator's comments
- Statuette of a mother-goddess
Roman Britain, 2nd century AD
from a Roman cemetery at Welwyn Grange, Hertfordshire
This statuette was made in a mould from a fine white clay called pipeclay. It shows a mother-goddess sitting in a basketwork chair suckling a baby.
In an age without sterile conditions, any substitute for mother's milk, other than that of a wet-nurse, was potentially harmful, if not lethal. Nursing was critical, and Roman medical authors recommended that the child should not be weaned before the age of eighteen months to two years.
- Location
- On display (G49/dc4)
- Acquisition date
- 1981
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- 1981,1102.1