Chlorite and calcite
Central Asia, Oxus civilization, late third to early second millennium BC
Small composite figure consisting of detachable parts 
Statuette of a rounded figure of a seated female deity with only schematized antropomorphic features
The small head and arms are detachable and were carved from a block of white calcite, contrasting with the deliberately and delicate carving of the hairdress and clothes made of green chlorite, the thick robe entirely covers the body, parts of the garment are made of a stylized fleecy material of superposed stripes and are reminiscent of the kaunakes, a woolen garment of Sumerian origin
With a wooden base
Total height of the figure: 24 cm
Provenance: from an old European collection, documented in the estate of the family since the early 20th century
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Small statuette like this have been produced by the Oxus civilisation, which flourished between 2300 and 1700 BC in Central Asia. This culture produced a very unusual type of female statuary known as 'Bactrian princesses'. Most of the Bactrian princesses are seated composite figures. As the Oxus civilisation had intense links with neighbouring civilisations due to its strategic position in Central Asia, these small figures reveal a strong Mesopotamian influence. In spite of the name, the 'Bactrian princesses’ are nowadays believed to be depictions of a female deity who in Central Asian mythology played a regulatory role in the natural order, pacifying the untamed forces embodied by lions, snakes, or dragons, rather than being portraits of members of the noble elite.

A related seated Bactrian stone female statuette was sold at Christie's New York,13 June 2000, lot 440.

Similar statuettes are, amongst other museums, in the collection of the Musée Barbier-Mueller, Geneve (Inv.no. 241-13) and in the Louvre, Paris (Inv. no. AO 22918).

Compare similar statuettes illustrated in: Aruz, Joan/Wallenfels, Ronald (Eds.), Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Exhib. Cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y, New York 2003, p. 335-339.

Literature:

Mousavi, Ali, Ancient Near Eastern art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, exhib. cat., Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2012.

Condition

The figure is in good condition, consistent with age. The detachable head restored.

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