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Title:
Fertility Figure
Period:
Second Intermediate Period - 15th, 17th Dynasties (1650-1549 BC)
Dimensions:
H: 16 cm
Properties:
ceramic; Iron oxide pigment
Where used:
Household, Afterlife
Description:
Immediately after childbirth, the mother and child would be isolated from the community. A "coming out" ceremony would later be performed: The mother would be decorated with body paint, dressed in a cowrie shell girdle, and her hair would be braided in three plaits. These activities symbolized her returning to the protection of the goddess Hathor (patron of beauty), and leaving the protection of Taweret (the hippo goddess of pregnancy and nursing). The details on this figure symbolize this ritual. These figures would often be found in tombs to symbolize re-birth.
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Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum & Planetarium