This exceptional ceramic sculpture is a votive figure from the middle of the first millennium BC, and represents a deity in the Phoenician pantheon. It is a stylistically remarkable example. It has a double-tiered pedestal base in the Egyptian style (i.e. elongated, with the figure placed towards the back) and a number of features that are atypical. Her headwear is classically Egyptian, with a tripartite headdress rather than the traditional Phoenician long robe that covers the bouffant hair. The robe is open and possibly absent (the moulding is unclear on this point) in this figure, exposing the protuberant breasts and stomach and what was probably a baby held in the crook of her left arm. The right arm is raised in a gesture of what is usually assumed to be benediction. The decidedly well-nourished shape of the woman is unusual, as goddesses are usually somewhat lissom or perhaps very slightly pregnant- looking. This individual, however, has outstanding hips and thighs as well as stomach and breasts, and invokes the notion of maternity figures much more strongly. The surface is glossy in placed, indicating either a partial glaze, or a long history of libations before its interment. The pose of the personage and the base show some affinity with Egyptian pieces, which inspired the Phoenicians’ artistic oeuvre. 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 has attracted some calcareous encrustation from its long immersion in the Mediterranean.

Antiquities
Ancient Near East