Ancient Vinca Incised Pottery Figure - Standing Goddess

Central Europe, Vinca culture, ca. 5700 to 4500 BCE. An incredibly ancient anthropomorphic or zoomorphic pottery figurine of a woman standing with her arms outstretched, her body widening to form a concave base. Her body is decorated with incised lines that create a crosshatched skirt and fascinating facial features including wide eyes. Her nose and breasts are modeled to rise from her body. Size: 2.875" W x 5.25" H (7.3 cm x 13.3 cm); 6.1" H (15.5 cm) on included custom stand.

Statuettes like this one, along with large tell (mound) settlements, are the most common finds from this ancient Neolithic culture. Some scholars have linked the rise of these figurines to an increasing sense of place and ownership in the landscape; people at this time seemed to be very interested marking their location and returning again and again to certain spaces in the landscape, and there is speculation that figurines like this one may have been representative of individuals and left in places to denote ownership or at least a connection to the geography.

Cf. a larger figure at the British Museum, museum number 1939,0704.1

Provenance: private Marysville, California, USA collection, purchased from Artemis Gallery auction, February 6, 2019, lot 70; ex East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010

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Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#171125
Condition Report: Repaired at neck. Small losses to base. Small areas of encrustation on surface. Great preservation of details for its age.