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LOT 0350
Large Stone Age Polished Kneeling Pregnant Goddess Idol
NEOLITHIC PERIOD, CIRCA 6TH-4TH MILLENNIUM B.C. OR LATER
6 in. (1.07 kg total, 15.3 cm high including stand).
A carved and polished figurine with rounded head and broad shoulders, folded arms resting on each side of the protruding belly, legs folded beneath the body; mounted on a custom-made stand. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
Cf. Morris, D., The Art of Ancient Cyprus, Oxford, 1985, figs.108-109, p.119, for similar idols; Various, Idoles, Au commencement etait l’image, A la Reine Margot, 22 Novembre 1990-28 Fevrier 1991, Paris, 1990, figs.10-11, for similar; also see Caldwell, Duncan, The Use of Animals in Birth Protection Rituals and Possible Uses of Stone Figurines from the Central Sahel, 2015 winter issue, vol.48, no.4, Nov., pp.14-25.
FootnotesMost scholars consider these as symbols of the fertility cult and as evidence of the existence of a matriarchal society as a form of organisation of the earliest human society. The people of the Stone Age may have considered figures such as this to represent women and mothers with their life-giving powers, or as depictions of the ancestors.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0350
Large Stone Age Polished Kneeling Pregnant Goddess Idol
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
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Huge Stone Age 'Livre de Beurre' from Abilly
Neolithic to Early Bronze Age, circa 6000-4500 B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Substantial 'livre de beurre' core with evidence of many flakes removed; with inked find spot legend 'Les Foulons / Abilly / Indre-Loire (FR)' and sticker with accession number '14'. 2.86 kg, 24.5 cm
Found Les Foulons, Abilly, Indre-Loire, France. Acquired on the European art market. From an old collection which was sold after the finder passed away. From the private collection of an East Anglian, UK, collector.
Notable for the very large, long straight blade taken from one face. -
Stone Age Knapped Grey Flint Pick
Mesolithic Period, circa 5000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Triangular in section with straight cutting edge, pointed butt. 375 grams, 18 cm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
These objects were produced by the hunting and gathering groups living in Europe during the early phases of the present interglacial period. The piece seems to be a core axe of Thames pick type, with pointed butt and rounded cutting edge. Core tools, now hafted, were used for woodworking in an environment now increasingly forested. -
Stone Age Contorted Stone Face
Neolithic Period, 3rd-2nd millennium B.C. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £156
Natural stone block with lightly dressed surface, the narrow edge minimally worked to represent a human face. 7 kg, 26 cm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
