Description:

Near East / Turkey, Anatolia, late Neolithic to Chalcolithic Period, ca. 6000 to 3000 BCE. Hand-carved from a coarse cream-colored calcite, this is a fascinating and unusual idol figure in the form of a standing anthropomorphic figure with its arms raised, depicted in relief, as if the hands are clasped at the center of the chest. Rich deposits cover much of the surface, but the human form is unmistakable. The figure appears to be wearing some kind of floor length robe and may have once had a painted head, possibly with inlays for the eyes. Size: 2.2" W x 4.25" H (5.6 cm x 10.8 cm)

Stone 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. A figure like this one would have been placed into a tomb or on an altar.

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

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#145229

  • Condition: A few losses to peripheries. Age has worn the features and added interesting deposits to the surface.

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April 23, 2020 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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