Childbirth and Female Figurines at Deir el-Medina and el-‛Amarna

Author(s): Geraldine Pinch

Source: Orientalia , 1983, NOVA SERIES, Vol. 52, No. 3 (1983), pp. 405-414
Published by: GBPress- Gregorian Biblical Press

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43077567

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Orientalia

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 405

ANIMADVERSIONES

Childbirth and Female Figurines at Deir el-Medina

and el-'Amarna

Geraldine Pinch

(Tab. V-VI)

In a recent article, B. J. Kemp compares wall paintings from the work-

men's village at el-' Amarna with paintings and figured ostraca from Deir
el-Medina, which are thought to represent the "Wochenlaube", or birth ar-
bour, in which women were secluded during and after childbirth. He con-
cludes that "The celebration of childbirth in the Deir el-Medina paintings
and ostraca, and also by close association in the E1-' Amarna workmen's vil-
lage paintings, seems clear enough" and that "It might be expected that child-
birth would be surrounded by customs and observances wholly the prerogative
of women; what is particularly noteworthy is the status accorded to this aspect
of life by the community as a whole" 1.
I shall consider here another body of material, found both at Deir el-Me-
dina and el-' Amarna, which supports this conclusion. This consists of the
female figurines misleadingly known as "concubines". The term "fertility
figurine" is more appropriate and will be used here.
In her article on the "Wochenlaube" scenes, E. Brunner-Traut compares
the tripartite hairstyle shown on some of the nursing mothers with that of
certain Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period fertility figurines2.
The women with this type of hairstyle are usually shown seated on a stool
and suckling a child. On the majority of ostraca however the mother wears
a long full wig and is seated on a bed with a child in her lap, or lying beside
her 3. The mother, who is sometimes clothed and sometimes naked, is often
shown being presented with toilet items or a drink. Brunner-Traut suggests
that the putting on of the festal wig and clothes might mark some kind of cel-
ebration at the end of the mother and baby's period of isolation4.

1 B. J. Kemp, "Wall Paintings from the Workmen's Village at el-' Amar-

na", TEA 65 (1979) 52-3.
2 E. Brunner-Traut, "Die Wochenlaube", MIO 3 (1955) 25-7.
3 E. Brunner-Traut, Die altägyptischen Scherbenbilder (Bildostraka) der
deutschen Museen und Sammlungen (Wiesbaden 1956) 67-72, pl. 3, 25-6; cited
as BT with ostracon number. B. Peterson, "Zeichnungen aus einer Toten-
stadt...", Medelhavsmuseet Bulletin 7-8 (1973) 103-4, pl. 69-72; cited as P
with ostracon number. J. Vandier d'Abbadie, Catalogue des ostraca figurés de
Deir el Mêdineh (2007 à 2733) (Cairo 1937) 69-80, pl. 49-52; Catalogue des ostraca
figurés de Deir eï Médineh (2734 à 3053) (Cairo 1959) 187-9, pl. 120-122; cited
as VA with ostracon number.
4 Brunner-Traut, MIO 3, 24.

Orientalia - 27

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 406 G. Pinch

The scenes on these ostr

figurine which first occu
New Kingdom. This similarity was noted by J. Vandier d'Abbadie in her
discussion of "Wochenlaube" ostraca from Deir el-Medina: "Peut-être y a-t-il
aussi quelque analogie entre cette représentation et les petites figurines de terre
cuites, images de la concubine du mort, étendue sur le lit et dont on a retrouvé,
comme nous l'avons vu, un si grand nombre à Deir el-Médineh" 5. Since
Vandier d'Abbadie does not elaborate on this point, a detailed comparison
may prove helpful.
During the 18th dynasty figurines of nude females wearing long, full
wigs appear at a variety of sites. From the late 18th dynasty some stone and
pottery examples show these figures lying on model beds, or slabs probably
intended to represent beds. A child is often modelled or painted beside these
figures and other elements are sometimes found which also occur on the "Wo-
chenlaube" ostraca.

The Bed

On the ostraca the beds are sometimes supported by legs carved in th

form of Bes6. One ostracon in Berlin, BT 65, and another in Stockholm,
P 132 (Plate V) show beds with Bes legs and elaborate coverlets which
closely resemble model beds found in a domestic context at Medinet Habu7.
The majority of the beds associated with the fertility figurines are much sim-
pler, with plain legs, a high footboard and criss-cross patterns to indicate the
string webbing. The model beds are however sometimes decorated with
snakes, a detañ often found on the beds shown on the "Wochenlaube" ostraca 8.
Naturally on these ostraca only one snake is visible, painted on the side
of the bed. On the models two snakes are found, one on each edge of the bed
or slab (VA 2344) . These snakes are either plain red, or red banded with black.
Real beds decorated in this way are known and Brunner-Traut suggests that
the paintings may have evoked the protective krht serpent, in its role of guard-
ian of fertility 9. One might also cite scenes which show Isis and the infant
Horus, flanked by protective serpents 10 .
On the ostraca various toilet items are shown under or around the bed,

5 J. Vandier d'Abbadie, Catalogue des ostraca figurés de Deir el Médineh

(Cairo 1946) 85.
6 BT 69; P 133; VA 2337, 2340, 2343, 2346, 2348, 2863.
7 U. Hölscher, Post-Ramessid Remains. The Excavation of Medinet Habu V
(Chicago 1954) 11, fig. 14. Figures of women on beds were also found at this
site and dated by the excavators to the 21st or 22nd dynasties: ibid. 11, fig. 12.
8 London BM 2371 (see Plate VI) and 14973; G. Brunton and R. Engel-
bach, Gurob (London 1927) pl. 15.6; B. Bruyère, Rapport sur les fouilles de
Deir el Médineh (1934-5) (Cairo 1939) pl. 44; Hölscher, Medinet Habu V, 11,
fig. 12; W. M. F. Petrie, Gizeh and Rif eh (London 1907) pl. 27 b.
9 Brunner-Traut, MIO 3, 24. See also Vandier d Abbadie, Catalogue
des ostraca figurés de Deir el Médineh 82.
10 L. Keimer, "Zoologica III", Etudes d'égyptologie (Cairo 1940) fig. 7;
R. V. Lanzone, Dizionario di mitologia egizia (Turin 1881-6) pl. 110; Catalogue
of the MacGregor Collection of Egyptian Antiquities (London 1922) pl. 1.

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 Childbirth and Female Figurines at Deir el-Medina and el-e Amarna 407

and a mirror is frequently included 11 (Plate V) . On some ostraca an at-

tendant is presenting a mirror to the woman on the bed and Kemp suggests
that "...this may perhaps be the final rite of purification itself"12. Many
of the fertility figurines found at Deir el-Medina have a mirror modelled or
painted on the bed 13 .
A figurine, now in Berlin, has a pair of sandals modelled on the bed. Ph.
Derchain compares this figurine to a Middle Kingdom tomb scene in which
a couple are seated on an elongated chair, while a maid behind them arranges
the lady's hair. Beneath the chair are various toilet articles and a pair of
sandals 14 .

Plant Decoration

A few fertility figurines, attached to beds and slabs, are flanked by a pa

of green plants with blue leaves 15 (VA 2344). A very similar plant was paint
on a pilaster (or roof beam), in one of the workmen's houses at el-f Amarna,
and the supports of the birth arbour are shown in the same way on many of
the ostraca 16 . L. Keimer has identified such plant forms as stems of papyrus
entwined with blue convolvulus flowers, and it is the convolvulus that provides
the chief floral decoration of the "Wochenlaube" 17 .

The Main Figure

The central figure of the woman on the bed is similar in many respects
to the corresponding figure on the ostraca. Both detached and attached
figures are usually lying down with their arms at their sides (Plate VI and
VA 2344). The attached figures almost always occupy the centre of the bed,
leaving no room for a male partner. B. Bruyere does however illustrate a
detached fertility figurine sitting up and suckling a child. He states that
quite a number of these figures were found at Deir el-Medina18. On the
ostraca the main figure is more often clothed than naked but with the figurines
this is reversed. Some of the seated figurines from Deir el-Medina were cloth-
ed, and occasionally a reclining figure is painted white, which probably in-

11 VA 2337, 2338, 2353, 2343, 2862.

12 Kemp, JEA 65, 53; see BT 65-68; VA 2339, 2858; W. H. Peck, Drawings
from Ancient Egypt (London 1978) 89; M. Werbrouck, "Ostraca figurés",
Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire, Bulletin 25 (1953) 98, fig. 9.
13 Bruyère, Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Médineh (1929) (Cairo 1933)
13, fig. 4.
14 H. Bonnet, Reallexikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte (Berlin 1952)
94, fig. 29; Ph. Derchain, "La perruque et le cristal", SAK 2 (1975) 66-69.
Derchain suggests that such scenes allude to the sexual life of the tomb owners.
16 London UC 16758; London BM 2371; Brunton and Engelbach, Gurob
pl. 15.6; Petrie, Gizeh and Rif eh pl. 27 f.
16 T. Peet and C. Woolley, The City of A khenaten I (London 1923) 59-60,
pl. 9.2; Kemp, JEA 65, 51.
17 L. Keimer, Die Gartenpflanzen im alten Ägypten (Cairo 1924) 45; Brun-
ner-Traut, MIO 3, 19.
18 Bruyère, Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Médineh (1934-5) 142, fig. 60.

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 408 G. Pinch

dicates clothing19. The majority however are naked. Their slender bodies
are painted either red or, less commonly, yellow, with the pubic triangle some-
times marked in black.
A girdle round the hips is sometimes shown, and a broad collar and large,
disc earrings are often worn. Both collar and earrings also occur on many
of the naked or semi-naked figures on the ostraca (Plate V).
The headgear consists of a long, full wig, whose elaborate plaiting can
be seen on some stone examples 20 . As on the ostraca (Plate V and Brunton
and Engelbach, Gurob pl. 15.6), a fillet and lotus are often worn and the wig
may be surmounted by the mysterious "incense cone" (Plate VI). This cone
is given particular prominence on the ostraca and on some examples a dish
containing a cone is shown under the bed or being presented to the mother 21 .

The Child

Although fertility figurines of several types may carry children, they

are most commonly found with the figures attached to beds or slabs 22 . Seated
detached figures holding children have already been mentioned and originall
some of the detached, reclining figures may have been accompanied by children
a pottery group of two fertility figurines, a male child and a model bed, were
found together at Sawama23. The children painted or modelled on the beds
or slabs are naked, hairless and long limbed (Plate VI), like those on most
of the ostraca24 (Plate V and Brunton and Engelbach, Gurob pl. 15.6). It
is not often possible to distinguish the sex of the child, but Bruyere states that
the children suckled by the seated figurines were male, and an obviously male
child lies beside a reclining figure now in the British Museum (Plate VI). Sev-
eral of the children shown lying on beds on the ostraca are also clearly male 25 .
The general portrayal of children as miniature adults makes it difficult
to assess the age intended. It might however be noted that children shown
suckling are generally smaller in proportion to their mothers, than children
shown lying on the bed. In the figure groups, the child is frequently shown
suckling, usually at the left breast26. The mother's right hand often crosses

19 London BM 55595.
20 London BM 2367; London UC 16758.
21 BT 71; P 133; VA 2355, 2360-63, 2862.
22 For examples of other types of fertility figurines carrying children see
C. Desroches Noblecourt, " 'Concubines du mort' et mères de famille au Moyen
Empire", BIFAO 53 (1953) fig. 14, pl. 4; D. Downes, The Excavations at Esna,
1905-1906 (Warminster 1974) fig. 48; W. Hayes, The Sceptre of Egypt I (New
York 1953) fig. 13; The Sceptre of Egypt II (New York 1959) fig. 6; W. M. F.
Petrie, Objects in Daily Use (London 1927) pl. 52; London BM 23424.
23 J. Borriau and A. Millard, "The Excavation of Sawama in 1914 by
G. Wainwright and T. Whittemore", TEA 57 (1971) 33, pl. 17.
24 BT 67; P 132; VA 2337, 2340, 2347, 2348.
26 VA 2337, 2338, 2858.
26 Brunton and Engelbach, Gurob pl. 47 b; Bruyère, Rapport sur les fouilles
de Deir el Médineh ( 1934-5 ) fig. 59; Hölscher, Medinet H abu V, 11, fig. 12; Mi-
chalowski et al., Tell Edfu 1939 (Cairo 1956) pl. 25; G. Roeder, Hermopolis
1929-39 (Hüdesheim 1959) pl. 47.

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 Childbirth and Female Figurines at Deir el-Medina and el-' Amarna 409

the chest to hold her breast and the wig is tucked out of the way behind the
left shoulder.
In a larger number of models, the child lies at the mother's side, usually
on the right (Plate VI). The child's face is often level with the mother's thighs
and the woman's fingers sometimes touch the child's head, or upraised hand.
These two positions correspond to what is found on the ostraca, where the
child is either suckling, or lying beside its mother. On the ostraca the mother
is always sitting up, while in the figure groups she is usually lying flat on the
bed or slab. This apparent contrast is probably due to the different media
and should not be interpreted too literally 27 .

Subsidiary Figures

Occasionally other figures are shown on the bed. On a model bed in

the Petrie Collection at University College, a crouching girl arranges the hair
of a recumbant woman 28 . This may be compared with one ostracon in Berlin,
BT 71, and another in Cairo, VA 2355, which show attendants arranging the
hair or wig of the woman seated on the bed. A figure group from Kom Medinet
Ghurab consists of a nude woman with a clothed girl seated at the end of the
bed holding a child. Another figurine from the same site has a clothed girl,
presumably an attendant, painted in one corner of the bed 29 .
More puzzling are the small figures sometimes painted in black on the
lower left-hand corner of beds and slabs (VA 2344). Bruyère seems to have
interpreted this kind of figure as a second child in an "embryonic" position30.
G. Brunton described one such figure as a "Nude, male, black dancing figure",
and Petrie referred to another example as a "dancing dwarf" 31 . The arms
of such figures tend to be raised above their heads, and the legs bent, giving
an impression of motion quite absent from the child figures. Several appear
to be waving something in one hand32.
Once again the "Wochenlaube" ostraca provide parallels for these strange
figures. One ostracon from Deir el-Medina, VA 2344, shows a semi-naked
woman seated on a bed and suckling a child. Behind her is a group of women,
while in front of the mother is a small dark figure, whose feet are level with
her shoulders. It has three tufts of hair on its head and appears to be dancing.
The figure could possibly be interpreted as a pet monkey, though Madame

27 It would certainly be easier to suckle in a sitting position, but when

the child is shown lying on the bed, the mother might either sit or lie beside
it. Probably one should interpret all figures who are suckling children, as
sitting up. In a drawing, the sitting position is obviously easier to show,
while a recumbant position is more suited to a model.
28 Derchain, SAK 2, 65-6.
29 Brunton and Engelbach, Gurob pl. 47; London UC 16758.
30 Bruyère, Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Médineh ( 1934-5 ) 141.
31 Brunton and Hengelbach, Gurob 17; W. M. F. Petrie (?), Catalogue of
Egyptian Antiquities found by Professor Flinders Petrie and Students at Lahun
and Sedment 1920-1 (London 1922?) 10.
32 Brunton and Engelbach, Gurob 17, pl. 15.6; Bruyère, Rapport sur les
fouilles de Deir el Médineh ( 1934-5 ) pl. 44; V. V. Pavlov, Egipetskaya skuVptura
v gosudarstvennom izobraziteV nykh iskusstv im A. S. Pushkina. Malaya Plastika
(Moscow 1949) pl. 43 b.

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 410 G. Pinch

Vandier d'Abbadie suggested that it was the ka of the newborn child. How-
ever the tufted hairstyle and the posture are strongly reminiscent of the paint-
ing of a Nubian dancer in Theban tomb 78 33 . Another Deir el-Medina
ostracon, VA 2858, shows a woman sitting on a stool suckling a child. A small
black servant washes her feet, while a second attendant holds up a mirror.
In front of this group is a male figure, dressed in kilt and broad collar. His
head appears to be partially shaven, but six long tufts of hair are visible. The
man, who is holding a hand to his forehead and kicking up one leg, is clearly
dancing 34 .
It is possible therefore that the black figures found with some fertility
figurines, represent attendants engaged in a dance. A Nubian servant, or
a dwarf, may perhaps have taken on the role of Bes and danced to protect
mother and child. Kemp describes a wall painting showing dancing Bes figures
which he associates with the "Wochenlaube" scenes, in a workman's house
at el-e Amarna.

It is clear therefore that some of the more elaborate fertility figurines

compress elements from the "Wochenlaube" scenes, such as the bed painted
with snakes, the convolvulus arbour, the mirror and the attendants. This
resemblance between the models and the "Wochenlaube" ostraca or wall paint-
ings, has largely been ignored in discussions of the function of the fertility
figurines. Nor has their context been studied carefully enough.
Various scholars have argued that the sole purpose of the fertility figur-
ines was to provide wives or concubines for the deceased male in the after-
life 35 . However, since some of the figures of the type attached to beds have
been found in female burials, it is unlikely that they were exclusively for male
use36. Moreover, the fertility figurines found in a funerary context are out-
numbered by those from domestic sites.
Bruyere, who found some of the figurines in tombs at Deir el-Medina,
orginally thought of them as entirely funerary. However the large number
of these figurines subsequently discovered in the village itself, eventually con-
vinced him that they had a place in daily life 37 . Fertility figurines have been

33 N. Davies and A. Gardiner, Ancient Egyptian Paintings (Chicago 1937)

pl. 40.
34 Bruyère, Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Médineh ( 1948-51 ) (Cairo
1953) 63, fig. 14; J. Vandier d'Abbadie, "Deux ostraca figurés", BI FAO 56
(1957) pl. 1.
35 H. Kees, Totenglauben und J enseits-V or Stellung der alten Ägypter
(Leipzig 1926) 299-300; W. M. F. Petrie, The Funeral Furniture of Egypt (Lon-
don 1937) 9; A. Wiedemann, "Varia", Sphinx 18 (1914) 167-72. For fertility
figurines found in burials see G. Brunton, Qau and Badari III (London 1930)
25, pl. 35; Bruyère, Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Médineh (1929) 12; D.
Dunham, Zawiyet el- Ary an. The Cemeteries Adjacent to the Layer Pyramid
(Boston 1978) 53-5, pl. 40; R. Engelbach, Riqqeh and Memphis (London 1915)
pl. 22; Michalowski et al., Tell Edfu 1939 , pl. 25-6; W. M. F. Petrie, Kahun
and Gurob (London 1891) pl. 27.12; Gizeh and Rifeh pl. 27 b, f; Ehnasya (London
1904) 52, pl. 40.
36 Brunton and Bngelbach, Gurob 16-17.
37 Bruyère, Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Médineh ( 1948-51 ) 36. For
more recent finds of fertility figurines at houses in Deir el Medineh see C. Bon-
net and D. Valbelle, "Le village de Deir el-Médineh: Étude archéologique",
BIFAO 76 (1976) 341.

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 Childbirth and Female Figurines at Deir el-Medina and el-' Amarna 411

found in quantity at other New Kingdom town sites 38, and the detailed pro-
venance is known for about sixty figures from el-f Amarna 39.
A small number of the type of figurine associated with model beds, were
found in temple refuse at Deir el-Medina40. Some similar figures occurred
among votive offerings in Hathor shrines at Serabit el-Khadim and Mirgissa
and in temple refuse of the late New Kingdom at Armant, Hermopolis and
Memphis41. Any analysis of the functions of the fertility figurines, must
therefore take into account their varied context.
Discussion of the fertility figurines of all types has tended to polarise
between those who see the figures as primarily concerned with conception and
birth, and those who associate them with sexual pleasure, whether for male
or female. As Kemp points out, Brunner-Traut has been criticised for failing
to recognise an "erotic element" in many of the ostraca she characterises as
"Wochenlaube" scenes42.
Several scholars have seen the figurines as primarily erotic43. Der ch
associates them with the probable sexual connotations of hair-dressing scene
A. Hermann compares them to a Deir el-Medina ostracon, VA 2345, which
shows a woman in a transparent dress reclining on a bed. He sees both as
reflecting the imagery of New Kingdom love poetry and to him the frequent
presence of a child on the bed is no obstacle to an erotic interpretation 45.
Such an interpretation might seem to be supported by the Turin Erotic
Papyrus. In the erotic scenes on one part of this papyrus, the female par-
ticipant is clad, like the fertility figurines, only in her jewellery and a full wig

38 Hölscher, Medinet Habu V, 11; W. M. F. Petrie, Kahun , Gurob and

Hawara (London 1890) 38, pi, 18.
39 Peet and Woolley, The City of Akhenaten I, 24-5, 69, 87, pl. 14, 23;
H. Frankfort and J. Pendlebury, The City of Akhenaten II (London 1933) 31,
34-6, 40, 44-5, 54, 57, 68, 78-97; J. Pendlebury, The City of Akhenaten III (Lon-
don 1951) 118, 121, 135-6, 140, pl. 78, 109; L. Borchardt and H. Ricke, Die
Wohnhäuser in Tell el- Amarna (Berlin 1980) 32, 55, 66, 68-9, 134, 137, 152,
159, 164, 169, 175-6, 182, 191, 203, 206, 209, 217, 220, 233, 246, 251, 258, 260,
308. The fertility figurines found at el-f Amarna are normally of the simple
type which consists of a crudely modelled nude female, often wearing a girdle
and a cone on top of the long wig. They were very often discovered close to
the model beds on which they would originally have lain.
40 Bruyère, Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el-Médineh ( 1948-51 ) 35.
41 J. Vercoutter, Mirgissa I (Paris 1970) 350, no. 144; W. M. F. Petrie,
Researches in Sinai (London 1906) 147, pl. 151.14; R. Mond and O. Myers,
The Temples of Armant : A Preliminary Survey (London 1940) 176, pl. 26; G.
Roeder, Hermopolis 1929-39 (Hildesheim 1959) pl. 47; R. Anthes, Mit Rahineh
1956 (Pennsylvania 1965) pl. 49.
42 Kemp, TEA 65. 52.
43 C. Desroches Noblecourt argues in BIFAO 53 (note 22 above) that
one of the chief functions of the Middle Kingdom figurines was to revive the
sexual powers of the deceased male. In contrast, W. Helck has suggested
that the figurines were charms to ensure sexual fulfilment for women (Betrach-
tungen zur Großen Göttin und den ihr verbundenen Gottheiten [Religion und Kultur
der alten Mittelmeer weit in Parallelforschungen, 2; Munich/Vienna 1971] 284).
The occurrence of most types of fertility figurine in both male and female bur-
ials shows that their function cannot have been confined to one sex.
44 Derchain, SAK 2, 65-6.
46 A. Hermann, Altägyptische Liebesdichtung (Wiesbaden 1959) 161.

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 412 G. Pinch

with lotus and fillet46. Other elements in common with the "Wochenlaube"
scenes include twining convolvulus, toilet items under the bed and a dwarfish
attendant, but since deliberate parody may be intended, the papyrus is an
ambiguous piece of evidence.
L. Keimer went so far as to suggest that all types of fertility figurine
represent women of the "demi-monde"; singers, dancers, concubines or even
prostitutes. One of his main arguments for this interpretation was the ap-
parent tattooing shown on some types of Middle Kingdom fertility figurine.
He also drew attention to various New Kingdom figurines and paintings which
show women with a figure of Bes on one or both thighs, and proposed that
this was the mark of a prostitute47. Since one fertility figurine from Kom
Medinet Ghurab, and another of Theban provenance48 (Plate VI), have marks
of this kind, the theory is of interest for the general interpretation of the figurines.
For the general association of tattooing with prostitution, Keimer can
only produce modern analogies. Although Bes can be linked with male sexu-
ality, especially in the Graeco- Roman Period, his connection with childbirth
is even better attested49. His role was that of a protector and a spell from
Papyrus Leiden I 348 recommends women in childbirth to wear a nm n sin
a "dwarf of clay" 50. A Bes amulet or tattoo might then be a charm worn
to protect women in childbirth, or possibly, to encourage conception. This
would certainly link Bes with sexual activity, but without the implications
of immorality which Keimer insisted on. The varied context of the fertility
figurines is a strong argument against regarding them as frivolous or obscene.
There is no obvious reason for depositing representations of prostitutes in the
graves of women or children; nor is there any evidence that such a practise
would be relevant in temples.
The presence of various types of fertility figurine among votive offerings
to Hathor, has led several scholars to refer to them as "Hathor figures", and
G. Hornblower saw all the figurines as representations of an Egyptian "Mother
Goddess" 51 . None of the types of fertility figurine resemble any known re-
presentation of Hathor. The common use of the figurines in the main city at
el-e Amarna, might also be used to argue against a direct identification with a
goddess.
Nevertheless, there is extensive evidence for Hathor's role as bestower
of human fertility and protector of women in childbirth. In a spell from Pa-
pyrus Leiden I 348 women are encouraged to identify with the birth pangs
of Dendara during their own confinement62. The identification of human

46 J. Omlin, Der Papyrus 55001 und seine satirisch-erotischen Zeichnungen

und Inschriften (Turin 1975) pl. 12.
47 L. Keimer, Remarques sur le tatouage dans I bgypte ancienne (Lairo
1948) 100-105.
48 Petrie, Catalogue of Egyptian Antiquities 10; London BM 2371.
49 H. Altenmüller, Die Àpotropaia und die Götter Mittelägyptens. Eine
typologische Untersuchung der sog. mt Zaubermesser " des Mittleren Reichs (Diss.
Munich 1965) 66-69; H. Brunner, Die Geburt des Gottkönigs (Wiesbaden 1964)
105-6; F. Daumas, Les Mammisis des temples égyptiens (Paris 1958) 448.
50 J. F. Borghouts, The Magical Texts of Papyrus Leiden I 348 (OMRO
51: Leiden 1971) 29, pl. 14.
51 G. Hornblower, "Predynastic figures of women and their successors ,
TEA 15 (1929) 40.
62 Borghouts, Magical Texts 29.

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 Childbirth and Female Figurines at Deir el-Medina and el-' Amarna 413

mothers and babies with the divine mother and child is known from texts
on Middle Kingdom apotropaic wands and from New Kingdom healing spells 5
S. Morenz has argued that the fertility figurines may be associated with
desses such as Hathor and Isis in that they represent women who might,
the crisis of birth, identify with the suffering and triumph of the divi
mother64. Because of Hathor 's role as patroness of lovers in New Kingdo
poetry, the connection of several types of fertility figurine with this godde
has also been used by those who see the models as primarily concerned w
sexual pleasure or potency 65 . Most of the followers of the "erotic" inter
tation prefer to view the figurines which are actually accompanied by childr
as a quite seperate group 66 . With all types of fertility figurine this is hard
justify, but especially in the case of the figures on beds.
There is frequently no appreciable difference in terms of posture, he
gear and ornaments between the figures with, and without children. Some
figures have the hair tucked behind the left shoulder, or even the right hand
holding the breast, when no child is visible 67 . Since this is the suckling po-
sition, a child is clearly implied. The inclusion of elements from the "Wochen-
laube" scenes, such as the snakes painted on the bed, or papyrus entwined with
convolvulus, also seem to suggest a child where none is shown58.
Although this resemblance between the models and the "Wochenlaube"
scenes supports the connection of the figurines with childbirth, an erotic element
need not be ruled out. Der chain applies his interpretation of the erotic signif-
icance of hair-dressing scenes to representations of married couples in tomb
reliefs59. If both the ostraca and the figurines are primarily concerned with
the successful production of children, this includes an association with con-
ception as well as childbirth.
There is no reason to suppose that Egyptian marriage partners rigidly
seperated a desire for children from the desire for sexual pleasure. The nudity
of the figures on beds, and the emphasis on the sexual organs in earlier types
of fertility figurine, should not be allowed to carry connotations of immorality.
It must be remembered that in the cause of fertility, the erotic, or even the
oļ) scene, have often been considered permissable in otherwise modest or prudish
socities 60 .
Kemp concludes that "These paintings are essentially prophylactic, il-
lustrating either the successful termination to childbirth and its ensuing period
of uncleaness or the deities who would ensure this (Bes and Thoëris) ..." 81 . The

53 Altenmüller, Apotropaia 66-9; A. Erman, Zaubersprüche für Mutter und

Kind (Berlin 1901) 38-40.
54 S. Morenz, "Eine Wöchnerin mit Siegelring", ZAS 83 (1958) 143.
55 Hermann, Altäg. Liebesdichtung 100-111.
66 Desroches Noblecourt, BIFAO 53, 34; Helck, Betrachtungen (note 43
above) 62.
57 Brunton and Engelbach, Gurob pl. 47; Petrie, Kahun, Gurob and Hawara
pl. 18; The Funeral Furniture of Egypt 9-10. London UC 8654; Manchester 615.
68 Petrie, Gizeh and Rifeh pl. 27 b, f; London UC 16758.
59 Derchain, SAK 2, 69.
80 The crude phallic models found m the rock shrine of Hathor built at
Deir el-Bahari by Thutmose III might be cited as a further Egyptian example.
See E. Naville, The Xlth Dynasty Temple at Deir el-Bahari I (London 1907)
65; G. Hornblower, "Phallic Offerings to Hat-hor", Man 52 (May 1926) 81, pl. 1.
81 Kemp, JEA 65, 53.

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 414 G. Pinch

threat of death in childb

incentives to seek the protection of such deities62. I would suggest however
that the fertility figurines were concerned not only with protection during
or immediately after childbirth, but with all aspects of procreation. The
presence of some figurines in burials, indicates that these functions might be
continued in the afterlife, which is in keeping with references to renewed sexual
activity in the funerary texts.
Bruyère was surely right to place the fertility figurines which he found
at Deir el-Medina, in the sphere of family life63. The "Wochenlaube" paint-
ings from Deir el-Medina were found in rooms containing household altars,
indicating some kind of ritual focus 64 . In a house in the main city at el-' Amar-
na, two model beds, a fertility figurine and a stela painted with a woman and
child before Thoëris, were found in a cupboard in such an altar66. Such a
group of objects is surely to be connected with the continuity of the family
living in the house, through successful conception and birth. The evidence
of the fertility figurines from Deir el-Medina and el-' Amarna, lends support
to Kemp's remarks on the prominence given to childbirth in the workmen's
houses 66 .

182 Abingdon Road

Oxford OX1 4 RA

62 The recent excavations at Tell el-Dab' a provide grim evidence for

this: "Sur cent quarante inhumations examinées, aucun individu ne semble
avoir atteint l'âge de soixante ans; la mortalité infantile est énorme et la
plupart des femmes sont mortes des suites d'un accouchement". J. Leclant,
"Fouilles et travaux en Égypte et au Soudan", Or 47 (1978) 271.
63 Bruyère, Rapport sur les fouilles de Deir el Médineh ( 1948-51 ) 36.
84 B. Bruyère, "Un fragment de fresque de Deir el Medmeh , BIFAO
22 (1923) 121.
66 Peet and Woolley, The City of Akhenaten I, 24-5, pl. 12.
66 I would like to thank Dr. M. Bierbrier of the British Museum, Mrs.
B. Adams and Miss R. Hall of University College and Professor Peterson of
Stockholm for their assistance and Professor John Baines for his help and
advice during the preparation of this article.

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G. Pinch, Childbirth and Female Figurines Tab. V

Ostracon, MM 14 005 (provenance: Deir el-Medina?).

Courtesy of Medelhavsmuseet, Stockholm.

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Tab. VI G. Pinch, Childbirth and Female Figurines

Figurine, BM 2371 (provenance: Thebes).

Courtesy of British Museum.

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