A royal portrait represents Arsinoe III, sister and wife of Ptolemy IV Philopator, showing the melon-frizur hairstyle, which was particular to Aphrodite and then very common with Ptolemaic queens. The bust format suggests its insertion into a statue-body carved in other material, perhaps from a royal Ptolemaic cult edifice. Many Ptolemaic kings honored the gods of Tell Basta, and even dedicated “Bubasteion" Temple of goddess Bastet in Alexandria.
Ptolemaic Period : 221-185 BC
Medium: Marble.
provenance: Eastern delta , Tell Basta ( Zagazing)
