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LOT 0341
Large Stone Age Pregnant Animal Idol
NEOLITHIC PERIOD, CIRCA 6TH-4TH MILLENNIUM B.C. OR LATER
6 1/8 in. (1.66 kg total, 15.5 cm including stand).
Carved in the round with sturdy body, swollen belly and ovoid-section head; 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.
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.12337-224209.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
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.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Stone Age Double-Sided Axehead
Neolithic Period, 3rd millennium B.C.Estimate: £600 - 800 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £300
Boat-shaped in plan with central drilling; small chip to on edge; mounted on a custom-made stand. 738 grams total including stand, axehead: 18.2 cm
Private collection, Raguse, Switzerland. with Kölner Munzkabinett, Germany, before 2016. Private European collection. Accompanied by a copy of the 2016 invoice. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Published Stone Age 'Homo Erectus' Handaxe
Lower Palaeolithic Period, circa 450,000-250,000 B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Lentoid in section and piriform in plan with broad cutting edge. 462 grams, 12.9 cm
From North Africa. From the collection of a French museum in the Dordogne which closed some years ago. Acquired on the European art market. From the private collection of an East Anglian, UK, specialist collector. Accompanied by a copy of the relevant book pages where this handaxe is published. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Stone Age Obsidian Knife Core
5th millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
Triangular in section with curved beak, facetting to the flanks. 527 grams, 14.7 cm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
