This large and imposing ceramic sculpture is a votive figure from the middle of the first millennium BC, and represents a deity in the Phoenician pantheon. It is very unusual in terms of styling. The base is trapezoidal, and is decorated with a double bar/rim at the superior edge of the front face. There is a bowl at the figure’s feet, implying that offerings were required in order to curry favour with her. The outline of the piece is made up of the long robe which reaches from the shoulders to the floor, and which is underlain by a tunic with a tie-belt. The detailing of the clothing is excellent and well preserved. Her knees are slightly bent and her head bowed, implying that she is rocking forward and thus attracting attention to her breasts and abdomen. Her right hand is raised in what is usually assumed to be benediction, while the left – which is open – rests just below her neck. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the piece is the headwear. Most Phoenician pieces are attired in a manner more related to the classical tradition than any more ancient inspiration. Yet in the current case the figure is clearly wearing an Egyptian headdress, which betrays one of the Phoenicians’ great sources of inspiration but that is rarely seen in such detail. There also appears to be a line of curls along the brow. The back of the piece is almost completely plain, implying that it was always meant to be viewed from the front rather than in the round, which is appropriate for figures destined for shrines. The piece retains some calcareous concretions from its long interment in the Mediterranean.

Antiquities
Ancient Near East