Figurine of Harpocrates
Figurine of Harpocrates
Place of OriginProbably Egypt, reportedly from near Fayum
Date1st to 3rd century CE (Roman Period)
DimensionsMax L: 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm); Max W: 3/4 in. (1.9 cm)
MediumFree-formed glass.
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1980.1328
Not on View
DescriptionSmall free-formed glass figurine depicting Harpocrates as an infant. The figure shows the typical topknot and finger-to-mouth gesture. Flesh-colored glass was used for the body; the torso is crafted from marbled glass in blue, white, red, and black. One arm and both legs are broken off.
Label TextThis small glass figure represents Harpocrates, a Greco-Egyptian child god. With one finger raised to his mouth and a child’s topknot on his head, Harpocrates was adapted from the Egyptian god Horus the Child and came to symbolize silence and secrecy in Roman times. The torso is made from swirled blue, white, red, and black marbled glass.
Before 1880
2nd century BCE
325-300 BCE
Hellenistic Greek, possibly Ptolemaic, about 150-50 BCE
Late 6th millennium BCE (or Late 5th to 4th millennium BCE?)
about 9th - 10th century CE
c. 2nd century CE
10th-13th century
26th Dynasty (664–525 BCE), about 650 BCE
5th Dynasty (2498–2345 BCE)
1st century BCE - 3rd century CE
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