Torso of a Priestess

Torso of a Priestess
Egyptian, reign of Ptolemy I or Ptolemy II,
306 – 246 B.C.
Limestone, h. 16 ½ in. (42 cm)
Provenance: [J.-L. Despras, Paris, by 1957]; sale,...
Sotheby’s, New York, December 10, 2009, lot 9.
Purchase, Liana Weindling Gift, in memory of
her mother, 2010 (2010.18)
Even with its upper part missing, this is a
beautiful example of a fairly rare type of
nonroyal female image from the time when
Alexander the Great’s General Ptolemy
and his son ruled Egypt. The tightly fitting
sheath worn by this woman is well known
from Pharaonic female representations,
especially of the Old and Middle Kingdoms
(ca. 2649 – 1640 b.c.), and her long-limbed
body is still close to the dominating ideal
of female beauty of Pharaonic times. Ptolemaic
artistic trends, however, predominate
in the rounded abdomen and the subtly
indicated pubic area. According to the
inscription on the back-pillar, the woman
was called Tagerem. She was the daughter
of a priest and held the priestly position of
“god’s wife” at Sakhebu, a town in the
southwestern Nile Delta.
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/~/media/