**Originally Listed At $500**

Ancient Near East, Anatolia, Early Bronze Age II, ca. 2700 to 2300 BCE. A Kusura-type marble idol of an extremely simplified anthropomorphic form. The idol is hand-carved and remarkably thin with a rounded head, a short conical neck, and a trapezoidal body with a rounded bottom. Kusura idols come from the village of Kusura in southeastern modern-day Turke. Votive idols like this one are known in a variety of fascinating forms throughout the pre-literate ancient world. From the truly abstract Kilia-type figures that are barely recognizable as human to the exaggerated feminine shapes of so-called "Venus" figures, people in the past, as today, had a clear desire to portray human forms and did not feel constrained by naturalism. Custom museum-quality display stand included. Size: 1.35" W x 2.25" H (3.4 cm x 5.7 cm); 2.75" H (7 cm) on included custom stand.

For a stylistically-similar example with a larger head, please see "Idols: The Beginning of Abstract Form." Ariadne Galleries, Inc., London, 1989, p. 58, fig. 17.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Richard Wagner collection, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, acquired in the 1960s

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#143620

Small chips and losses to head and body, with light encrustations across most surfaces. Light earthen deposits throughout.