Phoenician Household Shrine with a Nude Goddess in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, June 2010

Model shrine with nude goddess
Eastern Mediterranean, 6th–3rd century B.C.

Dimensions: Height x width: 26 x 14.3 cm (10 1/4 x 5 5/8 in.)

Medium or Technique: Terracotta

Classification: Sculpture

Accession Number: 1990.605

The plaque is a mixture of Mediterranean/Near Eastern styles that characterize Phoenician art. It represents the ancient Canaanite goddess Astarte, shown nude like the Mesopotamian Ishtar, but with an Egyptian face and wig. She stands within a shrine protected by typically Near Eastern snarling lions that support Egyptian columns surmounted by heads of the Egyptian god Bes.

Text from: www.mfa.org/collections/object/model-shrine-with-nude-god...