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LOT 1615
Stone Age Standing Goddess Idol Group
NEOLITHIC PERIOD, CIRCA 6TH-4TH MILLENNIUM B.C. OR LATER
5 7/8 - 7 1/2 in. (1.55 kg total, 15-19 cm including stand).
Comprising a pair of idols carved in the round with emphasised hips and vestigial head and limbs; each mounted on a custom-made stand. [2, 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.12335-224212.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and 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.107-108, p.119, 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’ in African Arts, UCLA, 2015 Winter issue, vol.48, no.4, Nov., pp.14-25, figs.5, letters R, Y.
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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Opening Bid: £125
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Neolithic Period, circa 5000 B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
With knapped edges and of oval shape, light grey one side, light brown to verso. 29.1 grams, 56 mm
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Large British Stone Age Knapped Flint Barbed and Tanged Arrowhead
Neolithic-Bronze Age Period, 4th-3rd millennium B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Lentoid in profile with carefully knapped cutting edge, square-ended barbs. 12.2 grams, 67 mm
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