HEAD OF DEITY
Identity: Unknown
Material: Painted Terra-cotta
Period: Prehistoric
Reign: Unknown
Dimensions:
Height: 10.3 cm
Width: 6.7 cm
This head comes from one of the earliest Neolithic settlements located at the western edge of the Delta where the Merimda Culture thrived. Such heads of deities were ritual objects, usually mounted on a post or borne aloft during cult ceremonies. Here we see that the sculptor who executed the head in burnt clay made the eyes as two holes, while pierced spots were made atop and at the lower part to receive hair imitating the beard.