Bactrian Marble Ritual Object

Central Asia, Bactrian (BMAC) culture, ca. late 3rd to early 2nd millennium BCE. A captivating striated brown and tan marble or alabaster object of wedge shape. The simple but elegant form along with the selection of this exquisite stone gives us an idea of why this would have been an object of worship. Stone idols like this one are known in a variety of fascinating forms throughout the pre-literate ancient world. From the truly abstract Kilia-type figures that are barely recognizable as human to the exaggerated feminine shapes of so-called "Venus" figures, people in the past, as today, had a clear desire to channel their worship into specific objects and did not feel constrained in their depictions.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Arte Primitivo Gallery, New York, New York, USA, auction #96 (December 3, 2019, lot 416); ex-Khan family collection, New Jersey, USA, acquired in the 1990s; ex-private New York, USA collection, acquired in the 1960s

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#152875
Condition Report: Light wear on surface commensurate with age, inclusing some small chips. The surface is lightly abraded, as if it was deposited in sand or a similarly coarse environment.