Mother Figurine

Place CreatedAsia

Possible OriginIraq, Asia

Possible OriginSyria, Asia

PeriodHassuna Period - Samarra Period

Date6500-6000 BCE

MediumGypsum alabaster

Credit LineGift of the 2016 Visiting Board

Dimensions3 3/8 x 1 1/2 x 1 in. (8.6 x 3.8 x 2.5 cm)

Object number2016.026.001

Label TextAs early as the 7th millennium BC, cultures in the Near East began to create organized settlements with well-developed religious and funerary practices. The Hassuna culture arose around 6500 BC and produced remarkable female figurines with distinctive fertility attributes. This alabaster statuette is from the northern Mesopotamian settlement of Tell es-Sawan. Alabaster female figurines were found in children¿s tombs, dug under a large unfired brick house. The find spot suggests the statuettes acted as mother figures who would guide deceased children to the world beyond.

The figurine¿s stylized form and nudity highlight her femininity. Her prominent breasts, stomach, round rump and large thighs emphasize her fertility. One of her arms cradles her swollen belly, a gesture that evokes a mother¿s protective power. Her facial features are summarily rendered. The statuette¿s identity is not important ¿ only her femininity. This recurrent female symbolism of fertility and birth relates to the ¿mother goddess¿ who played a central role in the early farming communities of the ancient Near East.
Exhibition HistoryAntiquarium, Ltd., New York, New York, 1987
Michael C. Carlos Museum Morgens West Foundation Galleries of Ancient Near Eastern Art, November 10, 2018 - Present
Published ReferencesAntiquarium, Ltd., Ancient Treasures XII (2014), 5.

ProvenanceSaid to be ex coll. Mnsr. A, Europe, before 1982. With Joseph Coplin (1965-2022) and Robin Beningson [Antiquarium, Ltd.], New York, New York, said to have been acquired from Mnsr. A, Europe, April 1987. Purchased by MCCM from Antiquarium.

Status

On view

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