Roman-Egyptian vase in the form of Isis-Aphrodite. Hellenistic culture, Alexandria, 3rd century BC.

Roman-Egyptian vase in the form of Isis-Aphrodite. Hellenistic culture, Alexandria, 3rd century BC.
Terracotta.
Provenance: Private collection, Heidelberg, Germany, formed before 1970.
Good state of preservation. Loss of material due to erosion on the back of the figure.
Measurements: 33.5 cm (height).

The particularity of the vessel in tender lies in its figurative character. Thus, instead of being in front of the typical vessel of simple forms and free of decoration, the specimen that occupies us adopts the syncretic form of Isis-Aphrodite. According to the Met Museum, whose collection houses a figure of Isis-Aphrodite, "Isis-Aphrodite is a form of the great goddess Isis that emphasizes the aspects of fertility associated with Aphrodite. She was associated with marriage and childbirth and, following very ancient pharaonic prototypes, also with rebirth." Although in our specimen the headdress or calathos (the crown of the Greco-Roman Egyptian divinities) presents a simplified form, it should present a small disc and horns of Isis, enhancing the effect of her nudity.