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Bust of a female votary or priestess
Near Eastern, Mesopotamian, Babylonian
Isin-Larsa or Old Babylonian Period
2000–1800 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Terracotta
Dimensions
Height x width: 38.1 x 45.72 cm (15 x 18 in.)
Credit Line
Mary S. and Edward J. Holmes Fund
Accession Number1972.870
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsSculpture
DescriptionTerracotta bust of a woman wearing a distinctive collar and hairdo. It is hollow, and was formed around a removable wooden core. The dog statuette found with it (MFA 1972.872) suggests that it may have come from a shrine to Gula, the goddess of healing, at Isin. The dog was Gula's sacred animal. The statue dates to the period of the transition to the Old Babylonian era. Traces of red and black paint remain.
Provenance1972, sold by Nicolaos Koutoulakis (dealer, b. 1910 – d. 1996), Geneva, to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 13, 1972)