Relief of a Copulating Couple

305-30 B.C.E.

The purpose or symbolism of this relief is not clear. Perhaps it was a votive offering in a temple, a household item, or a tomb deposit. It may have conveyed the idea of rebirth through sexual regeneration. The affectionate gesture of the man, placing his hands on the woman’s cheek, is most unusual. The significance of what appears to be a bird and of a largely destroyed image of another animal is unknown. The shape of the heads, the style of the wigs, and the robustness of the bodies are characteristic of art of the Ptolemaic period.