Description:

Near East, Tel Brak, modern day Syria, Middle Uruk Period, ca. 3700 to 3500 BCE. A petite yet striking figural carving on a thin, flat plank of white alabaster with large circular eyes, a lively zigzag pattern on the torso, and chevrons on the pointed forehead. Idols like this example were used for dedication to an all seeing god who watched over the populations of early Mesopotamia. Custom stand. Size: 1.3" W x 2.125" H (3.3 cm x 5.4 cm); 4" H (10.2 cm) on stand

Tell Brak was a major Mesopotamian city in northeastern Syria, located on a trade route between the Tigris river valley north to Anatolia, the Euphrates, and the Mediterranean Sea. The most famous building excavated at this huge site was the Eye Temple, where thousands of figures made of stone with incised eyes like this example have been excavated. Archaeologists believe that these were placed there as offerings. Wide eyes meant attentiveness to the gods in Mesopotamian art. Similar examples may be found in fine museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Louvre.

Compare examples in "Early Mesopotamia and Iran" by M.E.L. Mallowan, Pages 46 to 50.

Provenance: Ex-Private New York Collection; Ex-Private German Collection, acquired before 2000.

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#120900

  • Condition: Repaired at neck and lower end, missing tip of head, and shows age wear and earth deposits.

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March 15, 2017 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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