- Description
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Reclining female figure on couch or recessed bed. Broken, head missing. Crudely carved rectangular limestone relief votive plaque. Soft Egyptian limestone.
- Production date
- 630BC - 400BC
- Dimensions
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Height: 9.60 centimetres
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Thickness: 2.40 centimetres
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Width: 6.53 centimetres
- Curator's comments
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Object owned and held by the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. This record is included in the British Museum database as part of the Museum’s Naukratis Project, a research collaboration that aims to virtually re-unite finds from the ancient port city of Naukratis, now distributed over 80 museums worldwide.
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According to a sketch of Griffith (notes of January 1885), this plaque was discovered among over votive objects outside the Great Temenos, to the west. However, the Ashmolean Museum register suggests this is from a later BSA season excavation by Hogarth.
Reclining female limestone plaques are crudely carved rectangular limestone relief plaques of a reclining nude female figure, often with one or two small children, with a square-cut wig to the shoulders. They are often called ‘concubines’. Red and black painted decoration depicting jewellery such as necklaces and bracelets are also common on these. Many examples from Naukratis (Coulson 1996, 139-145, pl. XVII-4; Petrie 1886, 40, pl.19. 7-9; Hogarth 1899, pl.14.1-5; Hogarth et al. 1905, 127; see also comments by Gutch in Hogarth 1899, 82 nos. 49-56; Amsterdam 7948; Alexandria 16866, 16865, 16864; Cambridge E.191.1899, E.192a.1899; AN1896-1908-G.1008, AN1896-1908-G.1035, AN1896-1908-G.1034, , AN1896-1908- G.1032, AN1896-1908-G.1031, AN1896-1908-G.1030, AN1896- 1908-G.1029,; Bolton 1966.88.A, 1966.89.A; British Museum EA 1886,0401.1506, 1886,0401.1506, 1886,0401.1504, 1886, 0401.1510, 1886,0401.1511, 1888,0601.21, 1886,0401.1512; Cairo JE33574, JE33575; Heidelberg ST54; Coulson 1996, 142-3, pl.17.4, no.18, see nos. 19 and 21).
Hogarth states these were common and popular in the sixth century BC (Hogarth 1905, 129, pl.19.4). Gutch regarded these (and terracottas copies) as offerings of women before or after childbirth, but dated them them late on the basis of being found near the surface (Gutch in Hogarth 1899, 82 nos. 49- 56, quoting Petrie 1886, 40). They were commonly found at Naukratis in the town (Petrie 1886, 22, 36, 40-1, pl.19.2, 7-9, Level 420 dated ‘late 5th century BC’; Hogarth et.al. 1899, pl.19.4). The majority of these types were found in, or adjacent to the Great Temenos. area, the ‘South site’ (Hogarth 1903 box lists; Oxford, G.1035, G.1032, G.142, G1028) and east, but outside of the Great Temenos. (Griffith notebook January 1885; Oxford AN1896-1908-G.1031).
Parallels from Memphis (Anthes 1959, pl.30, b.48, variant type 1.1c; Petrie Museum UC 8650-3; UC8648 dated 26th Dynasty), Kom Firin (Petrie 1884-5 notebook), Sais (Wilson pers. comm. see also Daressy 1901, 230-239) Hermopolis Magna (El-Ashmunein, Spencer 1989, 51, pl.80, 79, no.111; Spencer, Bailey and Davis 1984, 100, Figs 12.3 and 12.8) and unprovenanced (Petrie Museum UC8649, UC8651, L- F.1.2 variants UC860, UC8653; see also UC8652). These figures originate from earlier Dynastic nude female on votive bed tradition, associated with the cults of Isis, Mut, Hathor and Anuket (Del Vesco 2009). These examples date from the late 7th to the 6th, possibly into the late 5th century BC.
Anthes, R. 1959. Mit Rahineh 1955, Philadelphia.
Coulson, W. D. E. 1996, The Finds, in Coulson, W. D. E. (ed.), Ancient Naukratis II. The Survey at Naukratis and Environs 1. The Survey at Naukratis, Oxford, 139-160.
Daressy, G. 1901. Rapport sur des fouilles à Sa el-Hagar, Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte 2, 230-239.
Spencer 1989. Excavations at el-Ashmunein. II, The Temple area. London: British Museum Press.
Spencer, A. J., Bailey, D. M. and Davis, W. V. 1984 British Museum Expedition to Middle Egypt : Ashmunein (1983). British Museum occasional papers. London : British Museum.
- Location
- Not on display
- Department
- External
- Additional IDs
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Miscellaneous number: AN1896-1908-G.1031 (Accession Number)