Female Donor

Photo by Jules Barthoux ©GrandPalaisRmn - Guimet Museum
Location
Tapa Kalān67
Description
The hairstyle of this female donor is particularly refined: on her forehead is a diadem of pearls, decorated with large flowers or palmettes at the temples. The hair or part of the turban is arranged in a fan-folded palmette, held in place by a braid of hair or fabric forming a knot. The entire hairstyle is covered with a veil. She wears heavy discs as earrings. The face is idealised and slightly smiling.
Restored on her bust in the Guimet Museum, we notice that her long veil falls down to cover the forearm. She wore a necklace and a very thin, almost transparent chiton, covering only one shoulder and emphasizing the chest, whose volume is all the more marked because of the particularly thin waist. The fabric is pleated at the bust, while at the skirt, marked below the waist by a band, perhaps a thin belt, it is smooth. The female donor carries a small circular mirror in her left hand, and a hand can be seen resting on her left shoulder. This figure probably belonged to a donor couple.
Observations
The head measures 12 cm.
1928 / today


Excavation photograph by Jules Barthoux (1928) juxtaposed with a recent photograph by Alexandra Vanleene.
Comparative study
The appearance of this donor can be compared to that of Nanda's neglected wife in the episode relating to his conversion.
Characteristics
Technique
Modelling
Material
Stucco
Object type
Figure
Site
Tapa Kalān - 67
Conservation location
Guimet Museum
Museum inventory No.
MG 17304
Traces of polychromy
No
Restoration
In the laboratory
Technique
Modelling
Material
Stucco
Object type
Figure
Site
Tapa Kalān - 67
Conservation location
Guimet Museum
Museum inventory No.
MG 17304
Traces of polychromy
No
Restoration
In the laboratory
Bibliographic Reference
Part of the themed route