Description:

Ancient Art. Near East, Anatolia, Early Bronze Age II, ca. 2700 to 2300 BCE. A fine marble example of a Kusura-type idol, carved from hard rock to have a spade-like body with upturned shoulders meant to suggest arms; a long, trapezoidal neck, and a half-circle forming a head. These figures are named from excavations at the Anatolian archaeological site of the same name, where they were first found by the British archaeologist Winifred Lamb in the 1930s, and have subsequently been found in other nearby parts of Anatolia. Comes with custom stand. Size: 2" W x 3.5" H (5.1 cm x 8.9 cm); height on stand: 3.8" (9.7 cm)

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. Miniature figures like these seem to be portraying worshippers rather than gods, and we believe that they were small enough that ordinary people could have owned them and kept them on home altars. Many people from ancient Anatolia are found buried with items like this one.

Provenance: private Seward Kennedy collection, London, United Kingdom

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#124609

  • Condition: Intact, with encrustation on surface.

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August 31, 2017 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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