Nude Female Figure

Creator Name

Unknown

Cultural Context

Egyptian

Date

Creation: 4th-1st century BC (Greco-Roman), Ptolemaic Dynasty

Source

Walters Art Museum

About the Work

Curationist Object Description

Small figurines such as this were once called "concubines" by Egyptologists. It was inaccurately hypothesized that they were placed in the tombs of men to satisfy their sexual desires. Today it is understood that men and women used these figurines as a symbol of fertility and sexual attraction. They were placed in homes and temples to ensure fertility and as offerings. In tombs, they ensured rebirth and sexual power in the afterlife.

Walters Art Museum Object Description

This very common type of figurine with a high, wide wig appears to be a late version of the "concubine" figure.For the latest information about this object, Nude Female Figure, visit the Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum.

Work details

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Title

Nude Female Figure

Creator

Unknown

Egyptian

Worktype

Sculpture

Ivory & Bone; figurines

Cultural Context

Egyptian

Material

bone

Dimensions

H: 2 7/8 x W: 1/2 x D: 3/16 in. (7.23 x 1.23 x 0.46 cm)

Technique

Language

Date

Creation: 4th-1st century BC (Greco-Roman), Ptolemaic Dynasty

Provenance

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.; Dikran Kelekian, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore [date of acquisition unknown], by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Style Period

Rights

CC0;

GNU Free Documentation License

Inscription

Location

Creation: Egypt

Source

Walters Art Museum

Subjects

Descriptive Topic: People, Woman, Nude, Wig, Fertility, Standing

Topic