Female Figure
1 of 4
Object Label
A canopic chest could be used to hold the jars for mummified internal organs. On the lid is the falcon-shaped god Sokar, a form of the sun-god sometimes combined with Osiris, god of the dead. The sides of the chest represent the starry sky, at the top; then a winged sun-disk crossing the sky; and the protective Sons of Horus positioned in a temple-like façade. Below the temple are hieroglyphs that repeat the phrases “all life and dominion” and “life and endurance,” both associated with Isis and Osiris.
Caption
Ancient Near Eastern; Syrian; Syro-Hittite. Female Figure, ca. 2000–1600 B.C.E.. Terracotta, unglazed, 1 1/4 x 1 x 4 7/8 in. (3.1 x 2.5 x 12.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. Florence Day, 51.117. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.51.117_NegA_print_bw.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Cultures
Title
Female Figure
Date
ca. 2000–1600 B.C.E.
Period
Middle Bronze Age
Geography
Place made: Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq, Turkey, & Syria)
Medium
Terracotta, unglazed
Classification
Dimensions
1 1/4 x 1 x 4 7/8 in. (3.1 x 2.5 x 12.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Florence Day
Accession Number
51.117
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Why are the female idols depicted as abstract figures?
Lots of people wonder that! These small female figurines and ones like them are some of the oldest art works known in the worlds today. They predate writing so we can only speculate.One theory is that communication was more important than realism. You may notice that breasts and pubic regions are emphasized leading scholars to believe that these were symbols of fertility. As long as the viewer could tell that the figure was a fertile woman, it has done its job, it does not need to be realistic. To the same end, these were produced in great numbers and it was easier to make somewhat abstracted figures.
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