Figurine of a Seated Woman

Figurine of a Seated Woman

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Representations of men and women in formal poses but executed in an abbreviated style are among the earliest examples of Egyptian sculpture. These figurines were mostly made from unbaked clay, pottery, bone, or ivory. Details, such as body hair, clothing, and tattoos, were incised into or painted onto their surfaces. This decoration emphasized elements of a figure’s gender or the possible function of the object. Figurines are very rare in this early period and because we do not know the detailed provenience of many examples, scholars must infer how such figurines were used by the Predynastic people that created them.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Figurine of a Seated WomanFigurine of a Seated WomanFigurine of a Seated WomanFigurine of a Seated WomanFigurine of a Seated Woman

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.