Ancient Central Asia & South Asia, Afghanistan and northwestern India, Kushan Empire, ca. 1st to late 4th century CE. A hollow-molded pottery hedgehog figure of a bulbous form. The petite creature exhibits a centrally parted back with hundreds of stippled dots indicative of its quills, a tapered head with softened eyes and ears, and a relatively flat base with a petite vent hole. The humble hedgehog - covered in rows of narrow, spine-tipped quills - was difficult to ingest by snakes and other predatory animals, so this pottery example was perhaps a zoomorphic effigy meant to protect its owner from encounters with dangerous creatures. Size: 3" L x 1.8" W x 1.6" H (7.6 cm x 4.6 cm x 4.1 cm)
Provenance: ex-private California, USA collection, imported into the US before 2000
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#167261
Condition
Small chips around vent hole on bottom, with softening to finer details on face and quills, otherwise intact and very good. Nice preservation to overall zoomorphic form.