A Double Unpublished Statue from Fayoum: A Discussion of its Nature and Significance

This paper deals with the study of a double statue of burnt clay (Terracotta), currently preserved in the museum store in Kom Aushim
under the number 114. The statue represents two persons : the first is a lady sitting on a sofa while the other is standing next to her. This study derives its importance in documenting and publishing this statue before its features are eroded due to the state of the statue, where some parts of it were decomposed and some of its features disappeared. Perhaps the small size of the statue and its material gives importance to the statue, because it is unique in its formulation and the whole topic. This study discusses the statue in terms of its subject matter and its artistic components with all the elements portrayed in it, as well as the artistic formulation of clothes, hairstyle, decorations, the clay of which the statue is made, its current state, and the technique of its manufacture. This paper aims to determine the identity of the statue : what it is, its significance, and the extent of its prevalence in the burnt clay statues in Fayoum region, and, finally, to establish a specific date for it in the light of a comparative analytical study. Although this statue is attributed to the group of double statues made of burnt clay, the statue portrays a harpist sitting on a sofa and next to her is a statue of the idol Harpocrat Agathodaemon, which is likely to be a votive statue dedicated to the idol Harpocrat Agathodaemon, the only case portraying a female musician in the presence of the idol until now. Perhaps the Portrayal of Harpocrates in the form of Agathodaemon and not in the image of the full child indicates the symbolism of the image and the failure of the artist to portray a human element accompanied by an idol in its human form.