The Maschinenmensch (also known as Maria) was a lead character in an early 20th century German science fiction movie.
In 2368, Clara Sutter kept a purple statue of the Maschinenmensch on the nightstand in her bedroom aboard the USS Enterprise-D. (TNG: "Imaginary Friend")
The old German movie is Metropolis, and the statue is a 1/5th scale display figure created by Masudaya in 1984 which was painted purple.