ABSTRACT
Plaster objects are divided into several groups, many of which are related to other materials such as terracotta, bronze and, in terms of style, sculpture. The majority of the Petrie material forms part of a group predominantly made up of moulds, some of which are marked Memphis and accord with the Mit Rahina material in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo and the Roemer-Pelizaeus-Museum, Hildesheim. A well-preserved plaster object can be distinguished from limestone by the pitting and air holes which result from the manufacturing process. All of the Egyptian-style images in the round are mould-made in two halves as indicated by the fine ridge at the sides of these pieces where the front and back join. A Greek-style draped male torso is manufactured as the Egyptian-style torsos: a moulded front unmodelled back with a hole. Hollow plaster figures in both Greek and Roman styles were most commonly used to represent deities and served as alternatives to terracottas.
