Ancient Near East, Mesopotamia, Kassite period, ca. 14th to 13th century BCE. A rare and intriguing example of a hand-built frit head depicting a religious worshipper. The haunting countenance presents with a singular ovoid orbital that seems to stare past the confines of space and time, a slender nose, full lips, and a tab-shaped ear with a quartet of perforations meant to showcase ornamental jewelry. The deep grooves defining the brow line and eyebrow were perhaps inlaid with bitumen and colorful stone fragments, and the eye perhaps contained a limestone, ivory, or jet inlay. Someone likely sculpted this figure for religious reasons; the figures with large eyes would have been placed in temples atop ziggurats. The striking eyes are a dominant feature of this kind of sculpture, likely representing a state of ecstatic prayer, and would have contributed to the sanctity of the temple. Size: 1.7" W x 2.7" H (4.3 cm x 6.9 cm); 4.1" H (10.4 cm) on included custom stand.

Cf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 32.37; also The British Museum, registration number 1927,0527.224.

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

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Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#144117

This is a fragment of a larger face. Losses to large portion of proper left half of face as shown. Light encrustations and softening to some finer details. Great preservation to remaining facial details.