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Lot Essay
For similar figures, cf. J. Thimme, Art and Culture of the Cyclades in the Third Millennium B.C., Chicago, 1977, p. 377, no. 486.
Highly schematic idols such as this coexisted with more naturalistic depictions of the human body and testify to the continuing popularity of abstraction in the art of Early Bronze Age Anatolia. The stylized forms are thought to represent a crouching female that is generally identified as the 'mother goddess' and associated with fertility. Although the precise function of these idols is unclear, their presence in sanctuaries and tombs suggests that they were used as votive offerings or grave gifts. Figures of the Kusura type distinguish themselves through their disc-shaped heads and trapezoidal or pouch-shaped bodies.
Highly schematic idols such as this coexisted with more naturalistic depictions of the human body and testify to the continuing popularity of abstraction in the art of Early Bronze Age Anatolia. The stylized forms are thought to represent a crouching female that is generally identified as the 'mother goddess' and associated with fertility. Although the precise function of these idols is unclear, their presence in sanctuaries and tombs suggests that they were used as votive offerings or grave gifts. Figures of the Kusura type distinguish themselves through their disc-shaped heads and trapezoidal or pouch-shaped bodies.