Ancient Near East, Parthian culture, ca. 2nd century BCE to 3rd century CE. A beautiful alabaster sculpture of a reclining, nude female leaning on her left arm as her right extends down her body, accentuating the feminine curves of her shapely thighs and supple breasts. Her right hand gently grasps a blanket as though beginning to cover herself. While the treatment of the body and graceful pose undeniably betray Hellenistic influence, the creases at the neck, the drilled navel, and the voluptuous form are elements of an established local tradition. Size: 3" L x 1" W x 1.75" H (7.6 cm x 2.5 cm x 4.4 cm)

The nude, seminude, or dressed reclining woman was a popular motif in Parthian-period Mesopotamia and was made in both terracotta and alabaster. Numerous examples have been excavated at Seleucia on the Tigris and also at Babylon, mainly in the residential areas of these cities. The type may go back to Seleucid times, but its combination of Greek and Near Eastern features is characteristic of Parthian art, as well. The nude, seminude, or dressed reclining woman was a popular motif in Parthian-period Mesopotamia and was made in both terracotta and alabaster. Numerous examples have been excavated at Seleucia on the Tigris and also at Babylon, mainly in the residential areas of these cities. The type may go back to Seleucid times, but its combination of Greek and Near Eastern features is characteristic of Parthian art, as well.

The statuette embodies the meeting of two artistic traditions. The nude, largely frontal representation of a woman follows the conventions established for Near Eastern images of female deities, such as Ishtar/Astarte. The reclining pose, on the other hand, is Greek. It was developed for male banqueters but also employed for certain female figures, such as Nereids lounging on sea creatures.

The significance of the alabaster and terracotta images of reclining women has to be sought in a local context and remains disputed. It has been suggested that they represented the goddess Anahita and were used as fertility charms (mainly for the alabaster statuettes) or, alternatively, that they were tomb offerings related to notions of the funerary banquet (for the terracotta figurines). However, male recliners are more rare and few statuettes seem to come from tombs.

A similar Parthian stone reclining female figure at Christie's New York hammered for $55,000 as lot 155 on December 6, 2007 ("Antiquities" Live Auction 1915), and another similar figure, though missing its head, at Christie's London hammered for 20,000 GBP (at the time equivalent to $30,862) on October 6, 2011 ("Antiquities" Live Auction 2390).

Please note that this piece is a dropship item, meaning that it will be shipping from the consignor?s location. All information regarding condition, size, and metal content have been provided by the consignor.

Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA; ex-private Ohio, USA collection, from the 2000s

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#183042

Missing left arm, lower legs, and top of head. Nicks, chipping, and abrasions as shown. Liberal remaining detail and encrustations to surface.