RT Article
T1 Female figurines in early Christian Egypt: reconstructing lost practices and meanings
JF Material religion
VO 11
IS 2
SP 190
OP 223
A1 Frankfurter, David 1961-
LA English
PB Taylor & Francis
YR 2015
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1570186391
AB This paper addresses the great diversity of female figurines produced during the Christian period (iv-vii ce) in Egypt, from Aswan to Karanis to the Abu Mina pilgrimage city. While not documented in any texts, by their sheer number the figurines offer important evidence of local religious practices performed under the aegis of Christianity (e.g., at saints' shrines) yet without any ostensible connection to Christian liturgy or mythology. Their usage seems to have been predominantly votive, signifying a desired procreative body to deposit in hope, while the diversity of figurines points to an autochthonous, rather than imported or imposed, ritual tradition. The paper, part of a larger project on the local sites of Christianization, uses these figurines and their forms to reconstruct the iconographic strategies of the workshop, the ritual procedures of the client or ritual subject (at shrine or tomb), and the nature of domestic altars as stages for images.
K1 Abu Mina
K1 early Christian art
K1 Egypt
K1 female figurine
K1 Karanis
K1 Pilgrimage
K1 votive
K1 workshop
DO 10.1080/17432200.2015.1059129