Ancient Near East, Mesopotamia, ca. 1600 BCE. A fabulous section of a mold-made terracotta relief plaque depicting a female holding an infant with the lower section of a child to her left (notice the two tiny legs posed in profile toward the left). This figure likely represents the Mesopotamian Mother Goddess known by several names (Ninmah, Nintud, Nintur, Belet-ili). She was associated with pregnancy and childbirth and was thought to guide children in the womb and nourish them after birth. Size: 2.125" W x 4.875" H (5.4 cm x 12.4 cm); 5.125" H (13 cm) on included custom stand.

The mother goddess was also oftentimes presented as the creator of humankind. According to Nicole Brisch, "In the Akkadian myth of Atrahasis, the Mesopotamian flood story, Nintur created humankind by mixing clay with blood of a slain god (Lambert and Millard 1969: 57-61), and in the Sumerian tale of Enki and Ninmah (ETCSL 1.1.2) the two deities compete by creating various creatures out of clay, resulting ultimately in the creation of humans. The clay is said to come from the top of the abzu TT , the cosmic underground waters. In her role as the creator of humankind she is eventually replaced by the god Enki/Ea, as visible in Enuma eliš TT (tablet VI, lines 32-36). Frymer-Kensky (1992: 70-80) referred to the diminishing importance of goddesses even in primarily female functions, such as creation, as the "marginalization of goddesses"." (Nicole Brisch, 'Mother Goddess (Ninmah, Nintud/r, Belet-ili)', Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses, Oracc and the UK Higher Education Academy, 2013 [http://oracc.iaas.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/mothergoddess/]

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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#135559

A section with losses to peripheries and abrasions to surface as shown. Still quite strong with wonderful detailed modeling and areas of mineral deposits.