COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
MMA_.86.16.1
AMICA Library Year:
2002
Object Type:
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Description:
This standing female is full-figured, with rings of flesh at her waist and three horizontal lines suggesting a fleshy neck. The hair is combed back into a knot at the back of the head. The lower arms were separately attached. Her left hand, open with the palm up, may have held an object. Like many other female figurines found in Mesopotamia, this one had inlaid eyes. Mesopotamian female figurines, both reclining and standing, were often given a plaster or bitumen wig and, although there are no traces of color here, details such as sandals, necklaces, upper-arm bracelets, and lines around the navel and pubic triangle were frequently added in paint. Jointed female figurines were dedicated at Greek temples and sanctuaries. Similar pieces, also with the lower arms attached separately, have been excavated from Parthian graves and residences. These Parthian figurines have been variously described as goddesses, dolls, and fertility amulets.
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Middle Eastern; Mesopotamian
Creator Name-CRT:
Possibly Ctesiphon, Mesopotamia
Title:
Standing woman
View:
Principal view
Creation Date:
2nd century B.C.?3rd century A.D.
Creation Start Date:
-200
Creation End Date:
299
Materials and Techniques:
Alabaster
Style or Period:
Parthian period
Creation Place:
Possibly Ctesiphon, Mesopotamia
Dimensions:
H. 10 5/8 in. (27 cm)
AMICA Contributor:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location:
New York, New York
ID Number:
86.16.1
Credit Line:
Purchase, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Gift, 1886
Copyright:
Copyright ? 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art . All rights reserved.
Related Image Identifier Link:
MMA_.h1_86.16.1.tif
