Near East / Turkey, Anatolia, Neolithic / Chalcolithic, ca. 5500 to 3000 BCE. A collection of three red terracotta idols, each with a distinctive beak-like nose. Two have a long, cylindrical body, while the third stands with arms stretched outward. Ancient idols like this one, that reduce the human figure to a simple collection of shapes and lines, are considered some of our oldest abstract art. They fascinate us today in part because they hint at a belief system and cosmology that we can no longer access or understand. Instead, we guess at the meaning - are they fertility charms? Representations of old gods? Were they made to be carried as apotropaic charms, or simply to be placed in tombs? Their mute figures raise more questions than they answer. Size of one (all are similar in size): 1.05" W x 1.55" H (2.7 cm x 3.9 cm); 2.35" H (6 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private Secaucus, New Jersey, USA collection, acquired over twenty years ago

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#130593

Two have losses from their lower bodies. All have surface wear commensurate with age.