Advanced Search 
Statue of a woman, possibly the goddess Aphrodite, wearing jewelry and holding a dove
Cypriote
Cypro-Archaic Period
600–560 B.C.
Findspot: Egypt, Naukratis, Temple of Aphrodite
Medium/Technique
Limestone
Dimensions
Overall: 22.5 x 24.5 x 11.5 cm (8 7/8 x 9 5/8 x 4 1/2 in.)
Other (Height with pin): 26.3 cm (10 3/8 in.)
Other (Height with pin): 26.3 cm (10 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Egypt Exploration Fund by subscription
Accession Number88.735
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
Catalogue Raisonné
Sculpture in Stone (MFA), no. 411.
DescriptionThis partially preserved statue depicts a woman grasping a bird against her chest with her right hand. She wears a rather simple, close-fitting garment. Her hair and jewelry are rendered in remarkable detail. Three braids fall in front of each of her shoulders, and another five can be seen down her back. She wears an elaborate, multi-stranded choker necklace with a large central stone that preserves some reddish pigment. In addition to this, she wears a necklace made of much larger beads with a central pendant that aligns with the stone of the choker. Though somewhat abraded and broken in a few places, this statue overall clearly shows the technical accomplishment of its artist.
ProvenanceFrom Naukratis, Temple of Aphrodite. 1886-7: excavated by William Matthew Flinders Petrie for the Egypt Exploration Fund, assigned to the EEF by the Egyptian government; December 22, 1887, presented to the MFA by the EEF. (Accession date: 1888).