AN EGYPTIAN TERRACOTTA FEMALE FIGURE

AN EGYPTIAN TERRACOTTA FEMALE FIGURE
MIDDLE KINGDOM, 12TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 1976-1793 B.C.
6 ½ in. (17 cm.) high

Provenance  Private collection, Geneva.

Broken in two (glued) Broken upper right arm (missing) 

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6150897

Similar figures of wood, ivory, faience and clay, are typically found in burials dating to the Middle Kingdom. They were traditionally identified as representing companions of the dead or 'concubines,' but are now understood to represent a more general idea of female fertility, potent powers which could charge the deceased with new life. For an example of the same type, cf. S. Schoske and D. Wildung, Entdeckungen, Ägyptische Kunst in Süddeutschland, Mainz am Rhein, 1985, p. 42, no. 28.