**Originally Listed At $500**

Central Asia, modern day Pakistan / Afghanistan, Bactrian, ca. 1000 to 500 BCE. Carved from a stunning piece of alabaster, what appears to be a staff handle of a flaring tubular form, the face of the flared end presenting a depression presumably for fitting the shaft of the staff. Alabaster, a light-colored, calcareous stone from the Iranian Plateau, has strong connections in ancient Central Asia to religion and specifically the gods. For example, in the site of Kultepe-Kanes, a huge burial mound, there were many disc-shaped alabaster idols, naked alabaster goddesses, and lion figures. We also know that alabaster was a precious material, widely traded in the region from the 4th millennium BCE onward. Size: 6.25" L x 2.5" in diameter (15.9 cm x 6.4 cm)

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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#121497

Nicks to periphery of wider terminus. An abraded area to one side with earth deposits in recesses.