Plaque Depicting a Queen or Goddess

Description

A headdress in the form of a vulture crowns this female figure, indicating her status as a queen or goddess. Although of Greek descent, pharaohs and queens of this era used traditional Egyptian markers of royalty and divinity, including crowns, to represent themselves. Her beaded necklace is embellished with lotus blossoms and flowering papyrus umbels—plants indigenous to the Nile River valley—further indicating her close affinity with Egypt.

Provenance

Nicolas George Tano (1866-1924), Cairo; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago through James Henry Breasted as agent, 1919.

Plaque Depicting a Queen or Goddess

Ancient Egyptian

Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE)

Accession Number

121726

Medium

Limestone

Dimensions

21.6 × 19.6 × 2.1 cm (8 1/2 × 7 3/4 × 1 in.)

Classification

plaque (flat object)

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Museum Purchase Fund