Lot Essay
Beginning in the sixth century B.C., depictions of female votaries appear in Cypriot art. There are several iconographic types, all related to ritual activities associated with the cult of a fertility deity: priestesses with hieratic garments, frequently holding symbols of fertility, such as birds, flowers or fruits; worshippers with uplifted arms; musicians and ceremonial dancers.
This veiled bust, uncarved below the waist, suggesting it was made for insertion into another sculpture or object, is shown holding a fruit in her right hand. These veiled, draped female figures are known as the "Herculaneum Maiden" type, which take their name from a statue excavated there. For a similar example, dating later from the 1st Century B.C., see acc. no. 74.51.2456 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.