Beyonce has shared further images from an elaborate photoshoot to celebrate becoming pregnant with twins.
They show the superstar swimming under water, reclining on a bed of roses and sitting naked on a floral throne.
They have been posted on her website alongside poetic text about motherhood and ancient figures of female strength.
Venus, the Roman goddess of love, Egyptian queen Nefertiti and West African deity Osun are all mentioned and seem to have inspired some images.
One verse about motherhood refers to “black Venus”, and in some of the pictures, Beyonce herself is reclining in the style of a classical goddess.
In another picture, she stands naked, cradling her belly with one hand and a breast with the other, next to the sculpted head of an Egyptian ruler.
She cradles belly and breast again in another portrait, this time wearing a Statue of Liberty-style crown.
Her five-year-old daughter Blue Ivy also appears, while one image sees her atop a flower-filled red car.
A passage from Beyonce.com reads:
Mother is a cocoon where
Cells spark, limbs form, mother
Swells and stretches to protect her
Child, mother has one foot in this world
And one foot in the next
Mother, black Venus
The photos follow an announcement on Instagram on Wednesday, in which she and husband Jay Z said: “We would like to share our love and happiness.
“We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes.”
The post has been liked more than 8 million times.
Source: BBC.com