LOT 0212

Bactrian Stone Female 'Princess' Idol

BACTRIA-MARGIANA, LATE 3RD-2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.

3 3/4 in. (540 grams total, 95 mm high).

Carved as a seated human figure, body with rows of overlapping tufts of fur, set with a bald head carved from cream stone with semi-naturalistic detailing to the face; a separate wig with wavy hair, and separately modelled hands.

Palace Galleries, New York, early 2000s.
Acquired by the current owner from the above.
Private collection of a North American lady.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13372-256950.

See Aruz, J., Art of The First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003, pp. 367-368, for discussion and similar examples; cf. Hiebert, F. and Cambon, P. eds., Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World, The British Museum Press, 2011, pp.71-76, for discussion and comparable objects.

This wonderful composite stone sculpture of a seated female figure with finely carved features is typical of the area of Bactria-Margiana, from the late 3rd to early 2nd millennium B.C. Among the few three-dimensional images assigned to this period in Central Asia are a group of stone female figures seated or squatting on a platform and wearing a pattern-decorated robe, perhaps imitating sheep's fleece.