Location

107 Egyptian

Fun Fact

This statuette of a serving girl was likely intended to accompany the deceased in the afterlife.

Description

This statuette of a young serving girl carrying a jar belongs to a select group of hand-modeled figurines usually dated to Dynasties 18 and 19. According to the conventions of Egyptian art, the girl's nudity and the sidelock of hair indicate her young age. No more than a dozen of these statuettes are known. Their distinctive features--slit-like eyes, exaggerated hips, triangular delineation of the legs, and finger-depression of the navel--suggest that all were made in the same workshop. Although their exact function remains unknown, it has been suggested that they magically served the deceased as an object in the tomb.

Provenance

Purchased from Michael Ward, Inc., New York

Citations

Turner, Evan H. "Selected 1991 Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 2 (1992): 63-83. Reproduced: p. 66; Mentioned: p. 76 www.jstor.org

Capel, Anne K., and Glenn Markoe, eds. Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt. New York, NY: Hudson Hills Press, 1996 Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 93

Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Reproduced: p. 247-248; Mentioned: P. 247-248

Exhibition history

CMA, 28 January-15 March 1992, Selected 1991 Acquisitions, cat.: CMA Bulletin 79, no. 2 (February 1992), no. 3, illus. p. 66;

Mistress of the House, Mistress of Heaven: Women in Ancient Egypt
. The Cincinnati Art Museum (organizer) (October 19, 1996-January 15, 1997); The Brooklyn Museum (February 20-May 18, 1997).

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Statuette of a Serving Girl

Egypt, New Kingdom, late Dynasty 18 (1540-1296 BC) to Dynasty 19

Location

Fun Fact

Description