NEOLITHIC PERIOD, CIRCA 5500 B.C.

Details

A MESOPOTAMIAN ALABASTER IDOL
NEOLITHIC PERIOD, CIRCA 5500 B.C.
5 ¼ in. (13.3 cm.) high

Provenance

Antiquities, Christie's, London, 16 July 1986, lot 74.
Private Collection, Japan.
Antiquities, Christie’s, New York, 11 December 2009, lot 40.
Private Collection, Europe, acquired from the above.
Antiquity: A Personal View, Christie’s, London, 6-27 July 2020, lot 102.

Brought to you by

Hannah Fox Solomon Head of Department, Specialist

hsolomon@christies.com +1 212 636 2256

Lot Essay

A number of these stylized idols, made either in alabaster or terracotta and representing women, were found at Tell es-Sawwan, on the east bank of the Tigris. They possibly represented deities associated with fertility and protection. For the type, compare no. 19 in Amiet, Art of the Ancient Near East.

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