Statuette of a female figure with a braid

Unknown

ca. 1802–1650 B.C. · Steatite · Egyptian Art

This small figurine's tilted body achieves a sense of movement that is amplified by her raised arms (now broken) and sharply turned head. She wears a girdle, and her hair appears encircled by five bands and braided at the top, from which the braid falls straight downward and curves at the end. Similar figurines commonly carry jars or hold musical instruments. This figurine’s rare coiffure has been suggested to indicate her occupation or ethnicity, but it might be tied to her participation in a dance or a ritual associated with the goddess Hathor.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1802–1650 B.C.

Medium

Steatite

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Bequest of Nanette B. Kelekian, 2020