What do we know about these figures? First, most are stylized to beautify the female figure. For example, aside from the obvious emphasis on this figure's hips, evidence indicates that the piercings on North Syrian figures like this one allowed the addition of simple jewelry to the ears and hair of the figure. Note also the sculpted heavy necklaces, elaborate hairstyle, and body chain below the navel. Second, the prevalence of female figures in urban and household contexts suggests that they were important as representations of a deity or as more general magical symbols of sexuality and/or fertility. (Sex was not celebrated as just a means to reproduce...your average Babylonian was pretty liberal! Similarly, it seems that religion and magic were not antagonistic concepts in ancient Near Eastern cultures.) Third, there was no stigma associated with discarding these figures however important their use might have been, perhaps because they were no longer needed, perhaps because they were damaged and easily replaced. Lastly, their use was confined to the living; the absence of these figures from burials suggests that the dead had no use for them. For more reading on the interpretation of Near Eastern terracotta figures, see the late P.R.S. Moorey's "Idols of the People: Miniature Images of Clay in the Ancient Near East. "

For similar North Syrian figures, as well as their earlier pillar-bodied counterparts from South Syria, see Badre, "Les figurines anthropomorphes en terre cuite à l'Âge du Bronze en Syrie," especially plates 1, 10, 62, and 63. For something in English, try Muscarella, "Ladders to Heaven: Art Treasures from Lands of the Bible," nos. 204-207. See also the online catalog of Near Eastern terracottas in the Ashmolean Museum, UK. (Trocadero won't let me add URL links to listings anymore, but do a Google search for "Ancient Near Eastern Terracottas" -- should be one of the first hits. Click on "download the catalog PDF files" and then scroll down to "The Bronze Age: Syria: Catalogue Part 2" for several similar examples. Note that you will need Adobe Acrobat to read these catalog chapters.)

AGE: Late Bronze Age, ca. 1900-1700 B.C.

CONDITION: As noted above, most of these figures are recovered from refuse piles in pieces, and they typically require quite a bit of repair. This piece has been repaired from three large pieces with restoration over the breaklines. The right tip of the hairdo and the nose are modern restorations, but the rest is original. Mounted on a nice wood block for display.