Ceremonial-Doll
Date3100-50 BC
MediumWood, paint
DimensionsObject/Work: 55 x 180 x 5 mm
ClassificationsToys/games/models/sports
Terms
Object numberC00455
DescriptionThis flat wooden paddle shaped object with the remains of red and black paint is a doll. One side has the faint remains of a painted figure of the hippopotamus fertility goddess Taweret, who protected women during childbirth.
The doll would originally have had a 'wig' of clay beads strung on cord attached to the head. Paddle dolls were a stylised depiction of a woman with an emphasis on the hips and pubic area. They were used as toys but had a ritualistic and protective function, particularly as a fertility symbol.
The item came from the collector and diplomat Henry Salt (1785-1827), British consul general in Egypt in 1815.
On View
Not on viewCollections
400-200 BC
1800-1900
1900-1928
664-525 BC