<em>Seated Goddess</em>, 305–30 B.C.E. Plaster, wood, pigment, 21 × 4 13/16 × 12 1/16 in. (53.4 × 12.2 × 30.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
, 37.594Ea-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.594Ea-b_NegA_SL4.jpg)

Seated Goddess, 305–30 B.C.E. Plaster, wood, pigment, 21 × 4 13/16 × 12 1/16 in. (53.4 × 12.2 × 30.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund , 37.594Ea-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.594Ea-b_NegA_SL4.jpg)

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What is this?

That is a Seated Goddess! Unfortunately, we don't know exactly which goddess the sculpture is meant to represent. This particular sculpture was made of plaster and wood. Considering the materials used, it is in remarkable shape! This statue and others in the same case show idealized female bodies in ancient Egypt. The bright blue fragment, for example, shows the goddess Isis. The remainder of the statue would have shown the goddess Isis nursing the god Horus as a child.

What materials and tools were these made with?

The larger figure to the right is made of plaster and was formed in a mold. It would have been painted as well, but much of the paint has come off. You can still see some in her hair.

What was the purpose of these sculptures? Were they important people?

These figures all had some kind of religious significance. Isis, represented in at least two of them, was one of the most important goddesses in the ancient Egyptian pantheon.

The larger limestone figure is also identified as a goddess, but without an inscription, headdress, or other defining attributes, so we can't be sure which one.

The headless figure is also difficult to securely identify, but the scepter she holds suggests that she represents either a queen or a goddess.

Why do they hold their chest?

The headless figure is simply holding her scepter close to her body, a useful feature in sculpture to make sure parts don't break off.

The two busts of Isis would have actually included a representation of her son, the god Horus, as an infant nursing. They are holding their babies to their chests.

Seated Goddess

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

MEDIUM Plaster, wood, pigment

Reportedly From: Saqqara, Egypt

DATES 305–30 B.C.E.

PERIOD Ptolemaic Period

DIMENSIONS 21 × 4 13/16 × 12 1/16 in. (53.4 × 12.2 × 30.7 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 37.594Ea-b

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Figure of a seated goddess in plaster. She sports a traditional dress-long, clinging skirt, with definite hem and neckline barely indicated. The form of the figure is voluptuous with large shapely breasts and erect nipples. The stomach swells out and carries a large navel. The face is thin. The eyes are framed by a flat horizontal orbital ridges and thin non-plastic cosmetic lines. The cheekbones are prominent. The nose is narrow and well proportioned, slightly upturned at the tip. There is a deep philtrum. The mouth curves upward, terminating in a shallow depression on either side. The lips are full. The chin is weak and blends into the neck. The ears are placed too high, but they are fairly naturalistically rendered. The head is framed by a heavy tripartite wig incised and painted with black stripes. The feet are summarily treated. Condition: The toes of the left foot are missing. There is a section of wooden armature showing through the right ankle. Both arms are missing. The right socket sports a wooden dowel for attachment of an arm (now lost), obviously cast separately in plaster. The left bears no such dowel but a coat of gesso remains (once used as an adhesive). The upper right hand portion of the wig and brow have been chipped away. This reveals the coarse plaster of the interior. Numerous dowel ends are seen over the body of the of the figure indicating a strengthening armature of wood on the interior. Only the left stripping of the wig has paint showing, the piece was probably unfinished. The left foot bears grey staining from mold attack. The piece is restored at the level of the knees as well as on the tip of the right foot which have been set back with plaster. Red guide lines are obvious over the entire surface plus some mold marks on the left flank. Numerous holes dot the pieces where gas pockets or decaying wood have caused the surface to collapse.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view on the 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Seated Goddess, 305–30 B.C.E. Plaster, wood, pigment, 21 × 4 13/16 × 12 1/16 in. (53.4 × 12.2 × 30.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund , 37.594Ea-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.594Ea-b_NegA_SL4.jpg)

IMAGE overall, unedited master file, 37.594Ea-b_NegA_SL4.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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