Alina Saiyed

FP6 Group C

Department of Communication Design

Omer Wasim

20th February 2019

Paddle Dolls in Ancient Egypt

Paddle Doll is from the period of the Middle Kingdom in the dynasty 11, late-12. It was found in

Upper Egypt, Thebes, in Asasif Tomb and it was discovered in MMA(mixed martial art) 816,

pit during the MMA excavations.The medium used are wood, mud, linen string and paint. The

dimensions of the sculpture are: H. 22.8 cm (9 in.); W. 7 cm (2 3/4 in.); Th. 0.9 cm (3/8 in.)1

It is an Egyptian art piece. It belonged from the middle era (2040–1750 BC).2 This doll was used

as a toy in Egyptian culture and the reason is that it is not only a doll but it represents many

things,they were used as Goddess for instance this doll’s structure is made from wood and it has

beads like hair.

The paddle doll structure is like a wooden elongated female figure with short hands and no legs

and it has thick dry mud beads threaded hair onto fiber strands and the hair colour is brown. The

body is painted with an elongated robe, the pubic part is exposed to show fertility and its

structure is similar to key hole.The hair of the doll might have used to make sounds, used as a

metaphor of troops of singers and dancers who performed at religious ceremonies associated

with the Goddess Hathor3(An Egyptian Goddess who signified happiness and care in

general.Hathor frequently held menats(necklace)in hands. On the paddle of the doll there are

different shapes which are filled with red, blue and yellow colour. Grids are also used a design

element in her clothes, diagonal and orthogonal grids. The diagonal grid is divided into six

columns, at the bottom of paddle there is a triangle shape which is filled with vertical lines. The

flat wooden paddle is filled with geometric shapes. With its simple form and color it looks so

1
The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed February 20, 2019.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544216.

2
Adams, Laurie Schneider. A History of Western Art. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011
3
The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed February 20, 2019.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544216.
rich, it represents fusion of culture which the Egyptian traditions had. This art piece is also

showing the identity of Egypt and how creative people were and how they represents expression

in their work and how thoughtful they were.

One of the most focused piece in this art is the hair. The hair recalls the braided style of sub

Saharan peoples. It is also believed that the hair might have been used to shake the doll in an

attempt to make prayer similar to the way rosary is used for prayers.The hair it somehow giving

the expression of roots and fertility.

It was a common tradition in egyptian to own a paddle doll. Everyone owned a paddle doll and

when someone died the paddle doll was buried with the owner. Paddle dolls were found mostly

near the king’s grave, the doll were specifically associated with the mortuary temple complex of

Mentuhotep II, the ruler who reconvene regions of lower and Upper Egypt around 2040 B.C.

At first they were considered as a play thing for little girls but when it was buried with the dead

people it became a symbol of sexual gratification in the afterlife. At some places they were found

in women’s grave in large groups. Giving the expression that they were may be involved in

prostitution.

According to the insight, paddle doll serves as representations of actual spiritual dancers,

performed in groups, known as “Khener”. Egyptologist argued for the ritual ceremonies

performed at Mentuhotep, s mortuary temple. The dance served to maintain the vital soul of

pharaoh, worshiped as the earthly carnation of the sun God Re.

The invention of the paddle dolls which were at Thebes’s gives alluring glimpse. Paddle doll

made an impact on Egyptian art and culture. It is believed that these dolls were actually the

performers who worked in the court. 2

It has also been suggested that the wig(Paddle doll hair) and the doll may not have originally

belonged together. Paddle dolls such as this one are similar to fertility figurines but date mainly

to the 11th Dynasty and the Middle Kingdom. They have been found in burials of men, women

and children, as well as in houses and temples. In daily life, these figurines may have been

magical guarantors of fertility both to mothers and to children who had reached the age of

puberty. As burial equipment, they represented the potential for rebirth and procreation, thus

ensuring continuity and immortality in the afterlife for both men and women.

Some historians also have this view that the hair was not a part of the dolls body and it was

added later. Throughout history female figures have been used as a metaphor for fertility

Goddesses and sexual gratification.

Historians believed that the paddle dolls were toys because of the way they looked and how

they shaped also they were found in huge number in every tomb and grave. Historians also

believe they might have become popular because of the huge number in which they were found

from the tomb and grave from the Egyptian people.4

From the research of Paddle Doll I understand that dolls were used throughout history and till

now as means of entertainment for young girls. Yes, the medium has now changed but the

concept of doll has always been there. It also tells us how a women figure is seen in the

history,and throughout history women have been given importance as Goddesses as they are

shown as sign of fertility similar, to the way Paddle dolls have been shown.

4
● Black Archive & Library, and Black Archive & Library. "This Egyptian Paddle Doll May Look Like a
Simple Toy, but It Is So Much More." The Root. January 12, 2017. Accessed February 20, 2019.
https://www.theroot.com/this-egyptian-paddle-doll-may-look-like-a-simple-toy-b-1790877275.
Bibliography:

● The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed February 20, 2019.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544216.

● Morris, Ellen F. "Paddle Dolls and Performance." Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 47
(2011): 71-103. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24555386.Toy, but It Is So Much More." The Root. January 12,
2017. Accessed February 20, 2019. https://www.theroot.com/this-egyptian-paddle-doll-may-look-like-a-
simple-toy-b-1790877275.
● "Religious Object ('Paddle Doll'), Ancient Egypt Collection." National Museums Liverpool. Accessed
February 20, 2019. http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/collections/antiquities/ancient-egypt/item-
296107.aspx.
● Black Archive & Library, and Black Archive & Library. "This Egyptian Paddle Doll May Look Like a Simple
Toy, but It Is So Much More." The Root. January 12, 2017. Accessed February 20, 2019.
https://www.theroot.com/this-egyptian-paddle-doll-may-look-like-a-simple-toy-b-1790877275
● Adams, Laurie Schneider. A History of Western Art. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011..