Posted by Sadie from D006099.N1.Vanderbilt.Edu (129.59.6.99) on Saturday, July 26, 2003 at 1:11AM :
when I feel like this. : )
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Disk-shaped female figure, late 3rd millennium B.C.; Early Bronze Age. Anatolia, Kültepe (ancient Kanesh). Alabaster; H. 20.2 cm (8 in.); W. 14.1 cm (5 1/2 in.). Kayseri Archaeological Museum, Turkey 535.
The sculptural tradition in Anatolia of making voluptuous and naturalistically executed female figurines dates back to the ceramic Neolithic period. At the end of the Early Bronze Age the more naturalistically formed anthropomorphic representations are produced alongside highly stylized schematic figurines often referred to by scholars as idols. The schematic type, peculiar to western and central Anatolia, comprises flat figurines of various sizes, round or violin-shaped, with modeled or triangular heads. Some of the figurines may represent males. The majority, however, are female. This figure has a modeled head on an elongated neck and is intricately carved, which brings a touch of naturalism to the otherwise geometric figure; there are circular eyes, distinctive joined eyebrows, emphasizing a long straight nose, crescent-shaped ears, and full lips. A thick braid encircles the forehead and falls at the back of the head in multiple plaits. A smaller single figure with two triangular heads is carved in relief on the lower abdomen of the main figure. Only the eyes and joined eyebrows are detailed on the smaller figure. Carving and drilling add the details. The pubic area on both figures is emphasized with triangles decorated with parallel lines and stippling, suggesting a female. Thus the present figurine may represent a mother-goddess with her two female children. At the same time, the overall shape of the figure is very phallic, giving it an almost androgynous nature, which may also be associated with fertility.
-- Sadie
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