Brooklyn Museum Identifies Maryann’s Statue

Remember the statue Sam picked up at Maryann’s house in True Blood‘s season premiere? He remembered it from his encounter with Maryann as a 17-year-old, too. Clearly that statue is significant, but what’s the big deal? The Brooklyn Museum has some clues: they have a similar statue in their collection, called “Bird Lady”. This statue dates back to around 3500 B.C.E. in Egypt. The symbolism, function, and identity of the figure are not certain; however, similar female figures painted on vessels from the same era appear to be goddesses, because they are always larger than the male “priests” shown with them.

Is this a clue that Maryann is a goddess? Is she 5000 years old? Or is it just another antique she likes to display?