PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, CIRCA 323-30 B.C.

This sculptor's model likely served as a preliminary study for a four-faced Hathor column, which became popular from the Middle Kingdom onwards. Often, each face was in the form of a votive sistrum with a frontal head surmounted by a headdress supporting a naos. The four faces symbolized Hathor's omnipotence and demonstrated how she watched over all four corners of the earth. For similar examples, see nos 181-183 in N.S. Tomoum, The Sculptors' Models of the Late and Ptolemaic Periods, Cairo, 2005.