Torso

This solid reddish-grey torso is flat at the back and has curving grooved decoration on both sides. There is a low swelling at the nape of the neck. The breasts are separated by a Y-shaped ridge, some of the upper parts of which have flaked off, suggesting it was an applied element, rather than one moulded from the solid clay. The central part of the ridge, which has marks probably made with a long fingernail or split bamboo stick, terminates in a thick band around the hips. This may represent a belt or bunched clothing, although a small rectangular hole in the centre is in the correct position for a navel.

Entry taken from Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection 3 volume catalogue, edited by Steven Hooper (Yale University Press, 1997).