LACMA

ShopMembershipMyLACMATickets
LACMA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
info@lacma.org
(323) 857-6000
Sign up to receive emails
Subscribe
© Museum Associates 2026
  • About LACMA
  • Jobs
  • Building LACMA
  • Host An Event
  • Unframed
  • Press
  • FAQs
  • Log in to MyLACMA
  • Privacy Policy
© Museum Associates 2026
Collections

Female Figure8th-10th century

On view:
Geffen Galleries
Small standing figurine carved from bone or ivory, honey-tan in color, with incised facial features, chevron chest decoration, and splayed legs; top of head broken off
Small carved bone or ivory figure with a schematic human form: incised facial features at top, geometric diamond patterns on the torso, and splayed legs at the base; warm tan coloring with surface wear and a visible vertical crack.
Small carved bone figure with a cylindrical head, incised geometric patterns on the torso and head, a banded neck, and two short legs; warm tan color with aged surface.
Small carved bone or ivory standing figure with a large cylindrical head, incised facial features, rounded torso, and splayed legs; warm tan surface with a visible vertical crack and incised geometric patterns on the lower body.
Title
Female Figure
Place Made
Egypt
Date Made
8th-10th century
Medium
Bone, carved
Dimensions
7 x 2 1/4 x 1 in. (17.78 x 5.72 x 2.54 cm)
Credit Line
The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, gift of Joan Palevsky
Accession Number
M.73.5.368
Classification
Organic Materials
Collecting Area
Art of the Middle East: Islamic
Curatorial Notes

Small bone figurines of this type have been found in large numbers in archaeological excavations in Egypt and were likely mass-produced for Late Antique markets, a practice that continued with the advent of Islam. While some scholars believe they are fertility symbols, their discovery in children’s burials suggests that they were made as inexpensive toys. This female statuette has holes at the shoulders for threading a piece of string with which to attach separate moveable arms, thus enlivening the tiny figure.

2024

Selected Bibliography
  • Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Islamic Art: The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 1973.

  • Lo Terrenal y lo Divino: Arte Islámico siglos VII al XIX Colección del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural La Moneda, 2015.

Related Unframed

Related Unframed

50 Works 50 Weeks: Paolo Veronese’s “Allegory of Navigation with an Astrolabe” and “Allegory of Navigation with a Cross-Staff”
50 Works 50 Weeks: Paolo Veronese’s “Allegory of Navigation with an Astrolabe” and “Allegory of Navigation with a Cross-Staff”
  • December 10, 2025
  • European Painting and Sculpture Department
Evaluating the Authenticity of Ancient Artworks
Evaluating the Authenticity of Ancient Artworks
  • February 7, 2024
  • Astrid Molina
Explore Indigenous Colombia Across Space and Time in The Portable Universe
Explore Indigenous Colombia Across Space and Time in The Portable Universe
  • March 24, 2022
  • Alexander Schneider
Artists Inspired by Music: Reimagining Iconic Records Through the Lens of Visual Art
Artists Inspired by Music: Reimagining Iconic Records Through the Lens of Visual Art
  • February 7, 2022
  • Staci Steinberger
Celebrating Black History Month—Modern Collection Highlights
Celebrating Black History Month—Modern Collection Highlights
  • February 24, 2021
  • Modern Art
Examining Tlatilco Figurines
Examining Tlatilco Figurines
  • November 2, 2020
  • Fernanda Hernandez
From the Collection: Alison Saar's "Breach"
From the Collection: Alison Saar's "Breach"
  • June 25, 2018
  • Carol S. Eliel
Fashion, Music, and Secret Messages in a Mexican Folding Screen
Fashion, Music, and Secret Messages in a Mexican Folding Screen
  • February 19, 2018
  • Ilona Katzew, James Middleton
Photographing LACMA’s Collection for "The Forms: Four Worlds"
Photographing LACMA’s Collection for "The Forms: Four Worlds"
  • September 7, 2017
  • David Lebrun
The “Pretty Ladies” of Tlatilco, Mexico
The “Pretty Ladies” of Tlatilco, Mexico
  • May 10, 2017
  • Catharina E. Santasilia
Artists on Art: Alison Saar
Artists on Art: Alison Saar
  • October 19, 2016
  • Carol S. Eliel
Exploring the Collection: Maya Then and Now
Exploring the Collection: Maya Then and Now
  • September 6, 2016
  • Lilia Taboada
From the Collection: Burial Urn in the Form of a Female Figure
From the Collection: Burial Urn in the Form of a Female Figure
  • January 26, 2015
  • Linda Theung
A. Jerrold Perenchio Announces Bequest of His Impressionist and Modern Art Collection to LACMA
A. Jerrold Perenchio Announces Bequest of His Impressionist and Modern Art Collection to LACMA
  • November 6, 2014
  • Linda Theung
All That Had Been Lost: An African American Journey through the Luba Exhibition
All That Had Been Lost: An African American Journey through the Luba Exhibition
  • February 27, 2014
  • Hylan Booker
A Home for African Art
A Home for African Art
  • July 3, 2013
What You're Looking For
What You're Looking For
  • March 18, 2013
Metropolis, Dr. Caligari, and the Aesthetics of Expressionist Cinema
Metropolis, Dr. Caligari, and the Aesthetics of Expressionist Cinema
  • October 11, 2012
A Peek into Paper Conservation
A Peek into Paper Conservation
  • July 17, 2009
  • Erin K. Jue