Female figurine

ca. 3100-2800 BCE

The end of the Egyptian prehistoric period saw a proliferation of human and animal figurines made of ivory, bone, stone or earthenware, which have been found in large numbers since the end of the 19th century, some buried in tombs and others hidden in caches inside the earliest temple sand sanctuaries of ancient Egypt. Slightly sullen, she stands entirely naked, her right arm hanging down the side of her body while her left supports a heavy, ample bosom. Her balanced proportions, three-part wig and delicate features already herald the aesthetic conventions of pharaonic Egypt.