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LOT 1537
Stone Age Polished Kneeling Goddess Idol
NEOLITHIC PERIOD, CIRCA 6TH-4TH MILLENNIUM B.C. OR LATER
3 3/4 in. (365 grams total, 94 mm 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 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 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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Stone Age Seated Mother Goddess Idol Collection
Neolithic Period, circa 6th-4th millennium B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £4,160
Group of three carved and polished figurines with rounded heads and broad shoulders, folded arms resting on each side, legs folded beneath the body; each mounted on a custom-made stand. 1.27 kg total, 8.7-11.5 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 search certificate number no.12351-223248.
Most 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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Found Old Sarum, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK. Acquired from Mr Edwards in November 2002. From the private collection of Kenneth Machin (1936-2020), Buckinghamshire, UK; with collection no.N143; his collection of antiquities and natural history was formed since 1948; thence by descent. -
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