Paddle dolls and performance in ancient Egypt.

2013

Clay Figurines in Context: Crucibles of Egyptian, Nubian, and Levantine Societies in the Middle Bronze Age (2100–1550 BC) and Beyond, 2024

Between 1937 and 1939, more than 80 female figurines, broadly associated to the Middle Kingdom, were excavated in the necropolis of Tell Edfu. These clay objects became key references in early typological studies on such statuettes, but there was little interest in knowing more about their original contexts. Around 70 years later, between 2007 and 2011, the Tell Edfu Project excavated 50 additional examples of the same types, but this time coming from second millennium BC contexts in the settlement area. Published assemblages of female figurines found by modern excavations are still quite rare, and this paper aims to contribute to the effort made by recent scholars to address this deficiency. This article discusses the characteristics of the female figurines excavated by the Tell Edfu Project and focuses more closely on their provenience, in order to strengthen our knowledge about their chronology and contexts of disposal. Re-analyzing published data from the Tell Edfu cemetery confirms interesting patterns in the distribution of these objects in the landscape, revealing possible patterns of use and disposal. This paper further reflects on such patterns and on the peculiarities of the Tell Edfu figurines by looking at other contemporary assemblages from Egypt and Nubia.

The World of Middle Kingdom Egypt III, MKS 12, 2022

Between 2017 and 2019 several partial and almost complete paddle dolls were excavated from tomb 1018 and its vicinity at Dra Abu el-Naga in the Theban necropolis. Analysed and discussed in detail, the decoration of these figurines exhibits a number of remarkable features, such as images of giraffes and a seated man, as well as curiously shaped tattoos. These features set the new figurines apart from other paddle dolls and are an important addition to the corpus.

This paper addresses the great diversity of female figurines produced during the Christian period (iv–vii ce) in Egypt, from Aswan to Karanis to the Abu Mina pilgrimage city. While not documented in any texts, by their sheer number the figurines offer important evidence of local religious practices performed under the aegis of Christianity (e.g., at saints’ shrines) yet without any ostensible connection to Christian liturgy or mythology. Their usage seems to have been predominantly votive, signifying a desired procreative body to deposit in hope, while the diversity of figurines points to an autochthonous, rather than imported or imposed, ritual tradition. The paper, part of a larger project on the local sites of Christianization, uses these figurines and their forms to reconstruct the iconographic strategies of the workshop, the ritual procedures of the client or ritual subject (at shrine or tomb), and the nature of domestic altars as stages for images.

Thread Dolls: Bone Heads Belonging to Islamic Rag Dolls in the Collection of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences..., 2023

In the collections of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences are stored four bone objects that are of an extraordinary and unconventional nature. They are anthropomorphic faces made of bone with an elongated irregular rectangular shape (in some places with rounded areas), pointed at one end. The aim of this publication is to present more information on the chronology, interpretation and cultural affiliation of these interesting artefacts. The artefacts were received by NAIM–BAS in the 1980s, with no information available on the circumstances of their acquisition and no receipt from the previous owner. There is no information whatsoever about their original archaeological environment, and whether or not they were acquired as a result of regular archaeological research, or whether they were the subject of unauthorised archaeological activity, such as the illegal trafficking of movable cultural property etc. Based on a brief overview, it can be said that the finds from NAIM–BAS can be attributed to the period of Islamic art generated during the Arab expansion in the lands of the Near East between the 7th–10th/12th centuries. Their interpretation as parts of several rag or dressed dolls is based on the definitions of similar finds from the territories of present-day Israel, Egypt and Palestine. This conclusion is based on the archaeological context in which these objects were found, as well as the hypotheses circulating in scholarly circles regarding their use and place in the daily life of people during this period. Taking into account the geographical area of their distribution, the archaeological context and the anthropomorphic specifics, it can be assumed that the finds from the NAIM–BAS collection are probably of similar origin, interpretation and chronology, although their natural area of manifestation is far removed from the borders of the Bulgarian lands and the European Southeast.

Current Research in Egyptology 2012, 2013

The social role of women in prehistoric Egypt: an analysis of female figurines and iconography, 2024

Female figurines from most periods of ancient Egyptian history occur in a variety of contexts. These images were often fashioned from clay, faience, ivory, stone, and wood. Of these, female figurines discovered in funerary contexts are highly interesting: Did they represent family members of the deceased, or was it a sort of ritual that entailed placing a feminine model with deceased males to serve them in the afterlife? In this paper, I will primarily analyze the social role of women in prehistoric Egypt. Additionally, I will also assess artistic renditions and the overall iconography of feminine figurines from that period. The following questions will help to unravel the aspects: Why were female figurines placed in tombs? What are the artistic features specific to female figurines? What can we learn from the positions in which female figurines were placed? This paper will study examples of female figurine their artistic and social styles and draw comparisons to understand their development. As for the Feminine iconography in this period, we will show the depiction of woman on the antiquities since the age of Badari, with a discussing of the development of the feminine iconography, until the early dynastic era. Through these depictions, we will be able to-functional and social role through the depicted scenes on pottery vessels, mace heads, and tombs. The presence of feminine figurines and iconography in this early stage of the development of ancient Egyptian culture is indicative of the prominent role women essayed in daily life - as mothers, wives, and servants- an aspect the deceased wished to carry forward into the next world.

Ancient Cultures at Monash University Conference

" A group of terracotta female figurines of an unusual style were discovered by Henri De Morgan during an excavation of an ancient Egyptian Predynastic cemetery at El-Ma’mariya in 1908 and dated to the late Naqada I or early Naqada II period. Among these figurines is the well-known and widely published ‘bird lady’ figurine, now located on display at the Brooklyn Museum, New York. Its arms are raised in a graceful arc upwards – a body pose unique to excavated Predynastic figurines that has nonetheless appeared on Predynastic painted pottery and rock art. Many interpretations have been put forward addressing this specific arm position and its significance to Predynastic culture and religion. The El-Ma’mariya raised arm figurine always features prominently in such interpretations and theories, yet not much has been said of its origins, and there has been no discussion of the rest of the figurine collection unearthed by De Morgan. The aim of this paper is to discuss the excavation and context of the El-Ma’mariya group of figurines and utilize comparative material, such as Predynastic painted pottery. The paper will then critically examine the various interpretations that have been proposed of the raised arm figurines and consider the significance of depictions of figures with raised arms as opposed to other arm positions and gestures that have appeared elsewhere in Predynastic sculpture and art. The final aim of this paper is to raise awareness of the exaggerated focus on raised arms in Predynastic studies and to bring attention to other, less acknowledged depictions that appear to be just as significant in Predynastic art, but which have not been given much attention. "

in N. Spencer, A. Stevens and M. Binder (eds), Nubia in the New Kingdom: Lived experience, pharaonic control and indigenous traditions, BMPES 3, Leuven: Peeters., 2017

This paper presents an assemblage of hand-modelled female figurines excavated recently at Amara West by the British Museum, alongside examples recovered during the earlier Egypt Exploration Society excavations at the site. Most are in the form of flat plaque-shaped figures, hand-modelled in mud, with a small number that have been shaped in the round. The figures are generally naked, often with the pubic triangle, breasts or navel marked; those modelled in the round have very prominent buttocks. There are examples of both shapes with tattoos or scarification. This paper contents that the figures were primarily by-products of personal magic, while a shift towards examples modelled in the round in later occupation levels may reflect growing Nubian influence on figurine production at the site.