Draped female figure

This plaque showing a draped female figure is from Egypt from the 3rd or 4th century (Coptic / Late Antique) and was intended for applying to a casket.

The woman is seen in three-quarter figure and wears a chiton and mantle. In the right hand she carries a wreath (or tambourine) and in the left an uncertain object.

Similar carvings, many of which follow the more or less convex curve of the bone, have been found in great quantities, chiefly in the district of Alexandria. The figure subjects are usually taken from mythology and are similar to those on textiles, but occasionally biblical scenes occur. The carvings were probably used in the decoration of wooden caskets.

Coptic refers to the Copts, which are Christian Egyptians with ancient origins dating back to the first century.