Asia Minor, Anatolia, modern-day Turkey, Early Bronze Age II to III, ca. 2700 to 2000 BCE. This is a portion of a highly stylized marble idol in a form known as a "violin" idol, here the torso is the characteristically flattened form with short arms and hour-glass shaped waist. The specific type presented here is of the Kusura-Beycesultan variety: the slender neck, and a rounded ovoid head devoid of any facial features are missing - which is perhaps an old loss to the remaining body. The meaning and function of these idols remains an enigma without any written records from this era. Archaeologists have theorized that fertility was prized by these peoples and that the violin idol takes inspiration, no doubt interpreted in an abstract manner, from the female anatomy! Size: 1.875" L x 1.675" W (4.8 cm x 4.3 cm); 2.65" H (6.7 cm) on included custom stand.

Scholars do not known for certain the meaning and purpose of so-called violin idols. However, it has been suggested that these figures were associated with motherhood and fertility. Votive idols like this one are known in a variety of fascinating forms throughout the pre-literate ancient world. From the truly abstract Kilia-type figures that are barely recognizable as human to the exaggerated feminine shapes of so-called "Venus" figures, people in the past, as today, had a clear desire to portray human forms and did not feel constrained by naturalism.

Provenance: private East Coast collection, New York, USA; ex-East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010

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#147850

Fragment of a larger piece as shown, with loss and to the neck and missing head. Surface pitting and chips to base and along the arms and peripheries. Mineral and earthen deposits throughout.