Figure
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
The majority of ancient Near Eastern female figures emphasize their fertility. Although the three terracotta (baked clay) figures here come from very different times and places, all are nude and two have overlarge, patterned pubic areas. Their faces are rudimentary, with little or no indication of a mouth. The copper figure, though very schematically modeled, suggests a real woman with pulled-back hair and a bulging belly, wearing a knee-length skirt and carrying an infant on her back. In contrast, the marble image, with its circular head, long neck, and U-shaped body, is reduced almost to abstraction.
MEDIUM
Marble
DATES
3rd millennium B.C.E.
PERIOD
Early Bronze Age
DIMENSIONS
6 7/8 x 4 3/16 x 1/4 in. (17.4 x 10.6 x 0.6 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
1996.146.5
CREDIT LINE
Bequest of Mrs. Carl L. Selden
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Anatolian. Figure, 3rd millennium B.C.E. Marble, 6 7/8 x 4 3/16 x 1/4 in. (17.4 x 10.6 x 0.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Mrs. Carl L. Selden, 1996.146.5. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1996.146.5_front_PS2.jpg)
IMAGE
front, 1996.146.5_front_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2008
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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we welcome any additional information you might have.
And why do they think this is a figure?
The general form is similar to other figural works from Anatolia in this period. This example is very abstract. Other examples resemble the human figure more strongly.
Thank you!
Why are the female idols depicted as abstract figures?
Lots of people wonder that! These small female figurines and ones like them are some of the oldest art works known in the worlds today. They predate writing so we can only speculate.
One theory is that communication was more important than realism. You may notice that breasts and pubic regions are emphasized leading scholars to believe that these were symbols of fertility. As long as the viewer could tell that the figure was a fertile woman, it has done its job, it does not need to be realistic. To the same end, these were produced in great numbers and it was easier to make somewhat abstracted figures.
