As part of the overview of small terracotta statues in the ancient Punic era, many small statues representing female figures with a disc on the chest can be found (figs. 1-3).

Fig. 1 - statue of a woman with disc on chest (Oristano, Antiquarium Arborense) (photo by Unicity S.p.A.)

Fig. 2 - statue of a woman with disc on chest (Oristano, Antiquarium Arborense) (photo by Unicity S.p.A.)

Fig. 3 - Statue of woman with disc on chest. Rear view (Oristano, Antiquarium Arborense) (photo from Unicity S.p.A.)

The woman’s head is covered and she is wearing a heavy cape that forms three stiff, vertical folds at the height of her legs. She is holding a disc on her chest with her left hand, with her right hand resting on it.

The statue, made in matrix with only one side, was only meant to be seen from the front and had a support from behind.

This type of iconography was widely known in the western Punic world and several statues with similar characteristics, although not identical, have been found in Tharros (fig. 4).

Fig. 4 - Statue of woman with disc on chest. From Tharros, kept at the British Museum in London (from AA.VV. 2007, p. 354)

Debate is still ongoing about identification of the female figure shown. It is uncertain whether she is a priestess or a worshipper. In any case it is generally accepted that she plays the tambourine, thus surpassing the old theory that saw her as a divinity holding the sun.

This series of statues dates to the end of the 6th and first decades of the 5th century B.C.