Ancient Near East / Asia Minor, southern Anatolia, ca. late 6th to 4th millennium BCE. An impressive fertility figure, skillfully hand-carved from red stone to display a rotund belly with thick legs, attenuated arms, and drooping breasts. The ancient figure is depicted seated with legs crossed and one hand placed on her bulbous belly. Fertility idols like this example were first produced as early as the 9th millennium BCE and were found throughout the ancient Near East by around the early 6th millennium BCE. Size: 2.4" L x 2.1" W x 2.2" H (6.1 cm x 5.3 cm x 5.6 cm)

Stone 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. There are some repeated motifs: emphasized arms, as on this figure, which researchers have interpreted to mean an act of supplication; similarly, the wide eyes on this figure are an often-repeated characteristic that researchers believe means that the figure is attentive to the gods. Miniature figures like these seem to be portraying worshippers rather than gods, and we believe that they were small enough that ordinary people could have owned them and kept them on home altars. Many people from ancient Anatolia are found buried with items like this one.

Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010

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#157795

Loss of head, proper left arm, and feet. Expected chips, nicks, and abrasions, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with nice earthen deposits throughout.