Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, Anatolia, Early Bronze Age II-III, ca. 2700 to 2000 BCE. A superb example of a Cycladic marble idol in a form known as a "violin" idol - for obvious reasons - a Kusura-Beycesultan variety with a characteristically flattened form, a rounded body, short arms, a slender neck, and a rounded ovoid head devoid of any facial features. The meaning and function of Cycladic idols remains an enigma without any written records from this era. Archaeologists have theorized that fertility was prized by these peoples and that the violin idol takes inspiration, no doubt interpreted in an abstract manner, from the female anatomy. Size: 3.375" H (8.6 cm); 4.25" H (10.8 cm) on included custom stand.
Scholars do not known for certain the meaning and purpose of so-called violin idols. However, it has been suggested that these figures were associated with motherhood and fertility. Votive 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.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
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#140208
Condition
Head reattached. Expected surface wear commensurate with age with areas of encrustation.