3h
Canaanite clay plaque dated ca 1400 BC, Late Bronze Age. The figure represents a nude goddess, identified by various names like Astarte (star, queen of stars), Asherah (tree, wooden pole, standing upright), Ellat (the goddess), Kedesh (holy), also mother of the gods, mistress of animals and other epithets. Depicted with the Hathor wig and emphasised pubic triangle, she is adorned with a necklace and holding what are likely papyrus flowers or water lily (lotus) by their long stems.
Part of the collection at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
