Comprising a round-section circular supporting ring mounted on three curved arms emerging from the head of a nude female figure in kneeling pose, arms raised and bent, base of a chalice in the left hand, a triangular inlay insert on the pubic area, braided hair resting on her spine; knees resting on the rim of a basal ring; mounted on a custom-made stand.

PROVENANCE:
Acquired in London, 1973.
with Rabi Gallery, London, 1986.
Private collection, London.
Acquired from the above 2021.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12973-246396.

LITERATURE:
Cf. a similar vessel stand with Ibex support in the Metropolitan Museum, accession number 1974.190; Frankfort, H., More Sculpture from the Diyala Region, OIP 60, Chicago, 1943, pls.33-34, 55-57; 91,95; Carter, M.L., Goldstein, S., Harper, P.O., Kawami, T.S., Meyers, P., Splendors of the Ancient East, Antiquities from the al-Sabah collection, London, 2013, figs.1, and nos.1-2-3-4, for metal figures done in similar style; cf. also Mahboubian, H., Art of Ancient Iran: Copper and Bronze, London, 1997, nos. 5, 6, 8.

FOOTNOTES:
This finely modelled statuette belongs to a rare and intriguing group of ancient objects depicting human or animal figures, either individually or in small ensembles, serving as stands or supports. A closely comparable example in the George Ortiz Collection shows a standing male figure on a quadrangular base, clad in a short skirt with a broad belt akin to the present piece, holding at arm’s length a columnar element surmounted by four curved branches and a ring. That work has been attributed to a southern Iranian or Mesopotamian workshop and dated to the late 3rd millennium B.C.

Another fragmentary example in the Ortiz Collection, possibly of similar function, portrays three kneeling worshippers on an annular base before what appears to be a stylised “tree of life”. Their posture, with hands clasped and thumbs crossed, recalls that of the present figure, as do their elongated bodies, though rendered more schematically. That group is generally dated to the early 3rd millennium B.C.

Objects of this type are thought to have served a ritual or votive purpose, perhaps originally placed within a sanctuary or temple. The upper support may have held a vessel for offerings, a lamp, or incense, reflecting an act of perpetual devotion within a sacred setting.