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This representation of a woman, carved of elephant ivory, was originally part of a piece of furniture such as a chair or bed. It is one of the “Megiddo ivories,” a hoard of carved pieces of ivory found in the palace of the Egyptian New Kingdom governor of Megiddo, a regional Canaanite center.

The ivories were carved in styles from many regions of the eastern Mediterranean: Greece, Cyprus, Anatolia, Egypt, and from Canaan itself. This representation is in the Canaanite style and shows a local woman with locally distinctive dress and hairstyle.

Canaanite Fertility Figurine

Name: Canaanite Woman

Material: Ivory with glass inlay

Size:
Height: 22 cm (9 in)

Date: 1300-1200 BCE, Late Bronze IIB

Place of Origin: Stratum VIIA, Megiddo, Israel

Location: Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, Illinois

Source and Registration#: Oriental Institute Museum A22258

Geoff Emberling

Former Chief Curator, Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago