The small figurine of The Sleeping Lady is one of the major highlights that one can find at the National Museum of Archaeology at Valletta. It is one of the unique prehistoric artworks that were found in a pit at the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, dating back to approximately 3600-2500 B.C.E.

This figurine represents a corpulent woman lying on her right side on top of a couch.
The apparent size of the female that of being a corpulent woman, may be a representation of the godess of fertility. If we link this artwork with the time it was made, we can actually find that fertility was a very important issue for the people in general as it not only represents the re-generation of people but also their standard of living. Re-generation of people was a vital asset for them, as to have ancestors which will continue to flourish their culture. Being corpulent could also be considered as a symbol of prosperity, that there was food and that therefore people were strong. Additionally we can connect fertility with agriculture, which means that there’s a good crop season. It was also believed that being a corpulent woman was easier to give birth.

Sleep can symbolise the eternal sleep, in other words- death. This is in fact very relevant as the figurine was found in a place which was used as a burial place. Moreover if we look closely to The Sleeping Lady we can see that her facial expression evokes serenity. It could also be a representation of a period of time when there was lack of fertility, or it could be a simple representation of a sleeping woman.

The figurine measures about 12cm in height, is made of pottery and there’s remains of few traces of paint on it. One can simply conclude that the figurine is actually representing a woman because it is represented with long hair, wearing a skirt, and it’s facial features look very feminine. The skirt is very detailed, giving us an indication of how people used to dress. There’s striking delicacy on the arms, and the lines that define the anatomy of the body which makes it very easy for the viewer to distinguish each part of the body.

It is certain that its workmanship is one of very high standards, and I personally think that one should give this work of art more credit.