[Last modified: March, 21 2019 12:52 PM]
Limestone Head of an Offering Statuette
| Collection & ID number | Petrie Museum Collection, UC49926. |
| Materials | Limestone |
| Date | Late period ( Between 600 – 300 BC) |
| Dimension | H 4.3 x W 3.5 x D 3.6 |
Dating back to the late period, little about the past of this statuette is known. The same goes for the artist who once carved it… Their stories and the details of how they came to be have been muffled by passing time, a lack of documentation, but most importantly in the limitations of their form.
The mystery that comes with the smirking face of this seemingly Greek female leaves room for imagination. The limestone form limits her ability to tell her tale for herself however the clues to her history lay waiting to be pieced together to unlock the tale of her past.
How could she have arrived at the university?
It is presumed that the object was brought to the museum on UCL’s campus having been found during archaeological excavations, by either the Petrie himself or other contributors to the museums collection like Ernst Gardner who continued research in the same sites.
Where could she have been found?
Petrie found the lost city of Naukratis (Egypt) where figures like these, whole and fragmented, were found in workshops, houses, burials and sanctuary deposits, one of which is that of Aphrodite.
For the full text please refer to the published book:
Gardner, E. 1988. Naukratis, Part II.
An assemblage of these provides useful insight into the production, use, meaning and deposition of votive offerings that represented a variety of activities the population in the ancient city were accustomed to. Information about the site’s inhabitants, their identity and possessions is recorded in the material objects they left behind – along with clues into their beliefs, roles in religious, magical and medical rites.