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LOT 0293
Stone Age Polished Goddess Idol
NEOLITHIC PERIOD, CIRCA 6TH-4TH MILLENNIUM B.C.
5 7/8 in. (6 1/2 in.) (635 grams, 15 cm (686 grams total, 16.5 cm including stand)).
With rounded profile, stub arms and head without facial detailing, vestigial legs; accompanied by a custom-made display 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 a search certificate number no.12087-217184.
Cf. Morris, D., The Art of Ancient Cyprus, Oxford, 1985, figs.114-115, pp.120-121; for similar idols; also see the view of 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 cult of fertility and 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 Polished Goddess Idol
Neolithic Period, circa 6th-4th millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £6,240
With rounded profile, stub arms and head without facial detailing, vestigial legs; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 635 grams, 15 cm (686 grams total, 16.5 cm including stand)
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. 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 a search certificate number no.12087-217184.
Most scholars consider these as symbols of the cult of fertility and 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. -
Stone Age Leaf-Shaped Flint Arrowhead Group
Neolithic Period, circa 8th-5th millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Comprising mostly bifacial and uniface leaf-shaped flint and chert arrowheads; probably from the Sahara region of North Africa. 132 grams total, 22-61 mm
UK gallery, early 2000s.
Most of these Western desert arrowheads found in the area of North Africa, from East Sahara to Fayum, fall in the first half of the 6th millennium B.C. and some may be dated back to the late 7th millennium B.C. In addition, the tanged arrowheads and leaf-shaped arrowheads, similar to the Fayum examples, are well-known in the Pottery Neolithic Culture of the southern Levant during the late 7th-early 6th millennia B.C. -
Stone Age 'Reygasse' Knapped Hand Axe
Lower Palaeolithic Period, circa 400,000-200,000 B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
In light brown stone, of rounded profile with thickened butt; inked collection inscription to one side ' Smaïz', 'Reygasse' and 'Coll Mortillet 2154'. 575 grams, 15 cm
Believed to have been found in Reygasse, France. Ex Collection Martillet, no.2154. Collection of Mr François Bigot (1950-2009). Accompanied by a copy of a French cultural export permit, no.231578.
