LOT 0462

Egyptian Wooden Doll with Circular Decorations

COPTIC, 7TH-11TH CENTURIES A.D. OR LATER

4 4 7/8 in. (16 grams, 12.4 cm).

Flat anthropomorphic panel with incised ring-and-dot ornament to obverse, single central ring-and-dot to the reverse.

Acquired on the German art market, 1989-1995.
with The Museum Gallery, 19 Bury Place, London, WC1A 2JB, 1998-2003.
Property of a London based academic, 2003-present.

Cf. Shatil, A., ‘Bone figurines of the early Islamic period: the so called “Coptic dolls” from Palestine and Egypt’ in Vitezović, S. (ed), Close to the Bone: current studies in bone technologies, Belgrade, 2016, figs.1,2,3, and especially 5 no.12, for the type.

In the late Roman Egypt or early Islamic period (7th–11th century A.D.) a new type of figurine appeared in the archaeological record: small, crudely crafted human figures made of bone. Some researchers considered them as toys meant to prepare girls for motherhood; others saw them as fertility figurines. They are mostly referred to as early Christian or “Coptic dolls”. In Egypt and Palestine they seem to appear suddenly in the 7th century, coinciding with the Arab conquests, but they might have existed earlier. With the new Muslim empire bridging former Roman and Sassanian lands, these dolls found their way to Egypt and Palestine where they were reproduced in huge numbers, becoming popular in all levels of society of the 8th and 9th century. By the end of the 11th century they disappeared as quickly as they appeared, probably because of restrictions placed on their production by Islamic laws.