Painted female statuette

Decorating the body with paint goes back to early times in Egypt. Both the pigments (green malachite, red ochre and black galena) and the designs could provide magical and medicinal protection, or help to communicate with the gods. The animal shapes of the palettes on which the pigments were ground also had specific meanings, and their power or properties could be transferred to the wearer through the cosmetics. In this way one could have the strength of a lion, the soaring power of a bird, the fertility of a fish, and the good health of a turtle.

This statuette shows how elaborate designs could be applied to the body. The finery of her bracelets, anklets and necklaces suggest this was done only on special occasions. Green malachite surrounds her large elongated eyes. This pigment was valued for its colour, evoking new vegetation and growth, as well as for its medicinal qualities against eye disease. Designs on the front of her body depict elements of the fertile Nile valley with symbols probably representing water, ponds and plants. A hippopotamus, an animal that was both feared for its dangerous disposition and admired as a good mother, is painted on her swelling belly, further reinforcing a concept of fertility. In contrast, on her back, dogs wearing collars and bells hunt down Barbary sheep (a type of antelope), symbolic of the dangers of the surrounding arid desert and the need to keep it under control.

Statuettes painted in this manner are rare. Most have the same large beak-like nose, which may be meant to animate them with the breath of life, or connect them with the birds of the heavens. Based on later evidence, such statuettes may represent dancers who performed at various ceremonies including funeral and possibly also births. Painted with images of the desert and Nile, such dancers embodied the dualities of desert and river, sacrifice and celebration, death and life.

Because very few statuettes have been found during scientific excavation, the authenticity of this piece was long in question. Recent scientific analysis has proved that the pigments and materials are ancient. She was however reconstructed from fragments before she came to the museum in 1925 and the brown dirt was then added to hide some of the modern restoration.