Female figure in boudoir

This fascinating figure of a woman is beautifully carved from a piece of limestone and showcases a woman in her feminine nature.

She holds one bust, and if you look closely, you can see the remnants of a baby, who she is suckling. She appears nude and is flanked by her kohl tube and personal mirror by her feet. It appears she may be depicted at rest upon a bed. Her hand delicately rests by her side with the baby resting upon her arm.

The woman wears a perfume cone upon her head, which adorns a long haired wig that cascades over one side and falls behind her upon the other. If you look by her feet, you see a mirror and a kohl tube, objects you would find in a boudoir.

The piece measures at 47.5 x 15.5 cm and due to the style of the creation, it is believed to date from the New Kingdom, approximately 1550-1069 B.C.

Currently on display within Sully, [AE] Room 331, gallery showcasing home life and furniture of the Ancient Egyptians, the piece was acquired by the Musée du Louvre through French art dealer Maurice Nahman (1868-1948).

What is the purpose of these objects?

Below we see another, extremely similar piece from the British Museum. Again, it dates from the New Kingdom, however this time we see a small figure besides her, representing a child. Her arm hovers over him protectively.

Most scholars believe these so-called “boudoir reliefs” or “domestic stelae” functioned as votive objects, perhaps left in temples, shrines, or tombs to ensure beauty, fertility, and well-being in this life and the next. They may also have served as devotional offerings to female deities such as Hathor, Taweret, or Beset, goddesses associated with childbirth, feminine care, and protection. In essence, they captured not only the grace and sensuality of womanhood, but the sacred role of the mother.

Whether commissioned by women themselves or gifted by loved ones, these carvings offer a rare and touching view into Ancient Egyptian ideals of femininity, not as political abstraction, but as a lived, nurtured, and sanctified experience.

Here we see a similar display of women in the boudoir, this time in illustrative form on a fragment of limestone, once depicting a fuller scene. At the base of the piece, a mirror and a kohl container; used for storing eye makeup pigment, are carefully illustrated, symbols of personal adornment. Above, two women are portrayed wearing finely pleated dresses and long, elegant wigs. In a gesture of refined intimacy, the standing woman on the left presents a broad usekh-collar to her seated companion, a scene that captures the grace and private luxury of Egyptian domestic life.

In Ancient Egyptian society, cosmetics, perfumes, fragrant oils, and elaborate wigs were not mere luxuries but essential markers of refinement, cleanliness, and social status, propriety and divine favour.

Summary:

Female figure nursing in boudoir

New Kingdom, c. 1550-1069 B.C.

Location discovered is unknown. Acquired by the Musée du Louvre through French art dealer Maurice Nahman (1868-1948).

Musée du Louvre. E 11764

(The British Museum. EA2371 figure is said to be from Thebes)