<em>Woman Holding a Lily Scepter</em>, 305–30 B.C. Faience, 4 3/16 x 2 1/16 in. (10.6 x 5.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 64.198. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 64.198_threequarter_left_PS2.jpg)

Woman Holding a Lily Scepter, 305–30 B.C. Faience, 4 3/16 x 2 1/16 in. (10.6 x 5.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 64.198. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 64.198_threequarter_left_PS2.jpg)

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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.

Woman Holding a Lily Scepter

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

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

The shapely forms of this statuette are characteristic of the ideal feminine body type of the Ptolemaic Period. During Greek rule, full thighs, a fleshy stomach, and round breasts replaced the leaner model of feminine beauty from earlier pharaonic history. Since Egyptians rarely depicted women naked, this figure wears a tight-fitting dress, the outlines of which were visible on the now missing ankles.

It is difficult to identify the subject precisely without an inscription or the head, which was likely decorated with attributes identifying the figure. The lily-scepter, held by both goddesses and queens, adds to the statuette’s mystery.

MEDIUM Faience

Place Made: Egypt

DATES 305–30 B.C.

PERIOD Ptolemaic Period

DIMENSIONS 4 3/16 x 2 1/16 in. (10.6 x 5.2 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 64.198

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

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 Woman Holding a Lily Scepter, 305–30 B.C. Faience, 4 3/16 x 2 1/16 in. (10.6 x 5.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 64.198. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 64.198_threequarter_left_PS2.jpg)

IMAGE threequarter, 64.198_threequarter_left_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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