Description

A large Carthaginian terracotta sculpture of the Goddess Tanit, c. 5th Century BC

This rare terracotta figure depicts the goddess Tanith, mother goddess of fertility and the
moon. Shown standing on a square plinth, she wears a long transparent sheath dress
and robe, one hand down at her side, the other bent up against her chest, her hair curled
around her face and falling past her shoulders.

Tanit was the patron goddess of Carthage and is related to Ishtar and Astarte. Tanit was
also worshipped by the Berber people of North Africa. She was the wife of Baal-Hammon,
the fertility god and chief deity of Carthage.