Zurich Open Repository and Archive University of Zurich Main Library Strickhofstrasse 39 CH-8057 Zurich www.zora.uzh.ch Year: 2009 Female Figurines from the Mut Precinct: Context and Ritual Function Waraksa, Elizabeth A Abstract: This study concerns the ceramic female figurines excavated by Johns Hopkins at the Precinct of Mut in Luxor, Egypt between 2001 and 2004. The figurines date from the New Kingdom to the Late Period (ca. 1550-332 BCE). Ceramic figurines are frequently overlooked by archaeologists, art historians, and social historians because they lack the aesthetic qualities usually associated with Egyptian art. However, the Hopkins-excavated figurines display features that mark them as standardized ritual objects. I argue that ceramic female figurines were produced in workshops, utilized by magician/physicians in healing rituals, and regularly snapped and discarded at the end of their effective <lives>. This isa new, broader interpretations for objects that have previously been considered as toys, dolls, concubine figures, and – most recently – votive <fertility figurines.> Chapter 1 presents a brief history oftheMut Precinct and summarizes the work of John Hopkins at the site. It also addresses the current state of figurine studies in Egyptology, including a critique of the <fertility figurine> theory. Finally, Ipresenta typology for the Mut Precinct figurines. Chapter 2 is a detailed study of the materials and manufacture of ceramic female figurines. I suggest that the figurines were manufactured by craftsmen in state-sponsored workshops, and that the red hue of many figures signals that the objects were malevolent and ultimately to be destroyed. Chapter 3 presents translations and commentary for magico-medical spells calling for female figures of clay, which demonstrate how female figurines functioned in magical rituals. Chapter3 also discussed a new term for <clay figurines.> Finally, a survey of magico-medical texts calling for other types of clay figurines is presented, highlighting the widespread use of such figures. Chapter 4reviews the salient conclusions of the study, and discusses the use of ceramic female figurines at the Mut Precinct specifically. This new interpretations of Egyptian female figurines broadens our understanding ofobjects often called <crude> and placed in the realm of women by demonstrating that ceramic female figurines were manufactured and acquired by men, and manipulated to heal a variety of patients. This study will undoubtedly encourage future studies of archaeological finds in concert with magico-medical texts. Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-152360 Monograph Published Version Originally published at: Waraksa, Elizabeth A (2009). Female Figurines from the Mut Precinct: Context and Ritual Function. Fribourg, Switzerland / Göttingen, Germany: Academic Press / Vandenhoeck Ruprecht. Waraksa Female Figurines from the Mut Precinct ORBIS BIBLICUS ET ORIENTALIS Published on behalf of the BIBLE+ORIENT Foundation in co-operation with the Department of Biblical Studies, University of Fribourg (Switzerland), the Egyptological Institute, University of Basel, the Institute of Archaeology, Near Eastern Section, University of Berne, the Institute of Biblical Research, University of Lausanne, the Department of Religious Studies, University of Zurich, and the Swiss Society for Ancient Near Eastern Studies by Susanne Bickel, Othmar Keel, Thomas C. Römer, Bernd U. Schipper and Christoph Uehlinger About the author Elizabeth A. Waraksa (b. 1977) received her B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies from the Johns Hopkins University. She currently works as a librarian at the Charles E. Young Research Library at the University of Cali­ fornia, Los Angeles, where she was previously a Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Postdoctoral fellow. She has excavated at the Precinct of the goddess Mut at Karnak in Luxor, Egypt with the Johns Hop­ kins University, and at Poggio delle Civitelle in San Venanzo, ltaly, with Florida State University. Her publications include the entry on female figu­ rines of the pharaonic period in the UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 240 Elizabeth A. Waraksa Female Figurines from the Mut Precinct Context and Ritual Function Academic Press Fribourg Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Göttingen Publication subsidized by the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences Internetgeneral catalogue: Academic Press Fribourg: www.paulusedition.ch Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen: www.v-r.de Camera-ready text submitted by the author © 2009 by Academic Press Fribourg, Fribourg Switzerland Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Göttingen ISBN: 978-3-7278-1653-6 (Academic Press Fribourg) ISBN: 978-3-525-53456-4 (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht) ISSN: 1015-1850 (Orb. biblicus orient.) Digitalisat erstellt durch Florina Tischhauser, Religionswissenschaftliches Seminar, Universität Zürich ForMom VII Table of Contents Foreword .............................................................................................................. IX 1 Introduction to the Site and Typology ............................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 1. 1.1 The Mut Precinct Site and History of Excavations ................................ 2 1.1.1.1 Location ......................................................................................... 2 1.1.1.2 Early References to Mut and Her Theban Temple ......................... 3 1.1.1.3 Royal Names in the Mut Precinct. .................................................. 4 1.1.1.4 Officials' Inscriptions from the Mut Precinct... .............................. 5 1.1.1.5 History of Visitors, Expeditions to the Mut Precinct ..................... 6 1.1.1.6 Summary of Johns Hopkins University Excavations 2001-2004 ..... 9 1.2 Background to Female Figurine Studies ..................................................... 12 1.3 Typology ofthe Mut Precinct Female Figurines ......................................... 20 1.3.1 Type 1 ......... :........................................................................................ 22 1.3.2 Type 2 .................................................................................................. 25 1.3.3 Type 3 .................................................................................................. 30 1.3.4 Type 4 .................................................................................................. 33 1.3.5 Type 5 .................................................................................................. 36 1.3.6 Type 6 .................................................................................................. 37 1.3.7 Unassigned ........................................................................................... 38 Table 1 ................................................................................................................... 39 2. Materials and Manufacture of Female Figurines ......................................... .43 2.1 Introduction to the Technical Study ............................................................. 43 2.2 Manufacture of the Figurines ...................................................................... 45 2.2.1 Clay ...................................................................................................... 45 2.2.2 Shaping ................................................................................................ 46 2.2.3 Incising ................................................................................................. 50 2.2.4 Applique ............................................................................................... 52 2.2.5 Red Wash ............................................................................................. 54 2.2.6 Polychrome Decoration ........................................................................ 58 2.2. 7 Durability ............................................................................................. 67 2.3: Standardization and Distribution of the Figurines ..................................... 76 2.3.1 Standardization .................................................................................... 76 2.3 .2 Distribution .......................................................................................... 80 2.4: Material & Color Symbolism and Iconographic Remarks ......................... 90 2.4.1 Material Symbolism ............................................................................. 90 2.4.1.1 Clay .............................................................................................. 90 2.4.1.2 Silver ............................................................................................ 94 2.4.1.3 Copper .......................................................................................... 96 2.4.1.4 Faience ......................................................................................... 97 VIII 2.4.1.5 Shell ............................................................................................. 98 2.4.1.6 Linen ............................................................................................ 99 2.4.2 Color Symbolism ............ ................................................................... 102 2.4.2.1 Red ............................................................................................