Miniature Neolithic Vinca Pottery Fertility Idol

Southeastern Europe, Danube Region, Vinca culture also known as Turdas or Turdas-Vinca culture, ca. 5th to 4th millennium BCE. A petite pottery idol with vestigial arms and a minimalist head; the orifices have been hand-drilled. This is perhaps a cult idol and comes from the Neolithic Era, when farming was in its earliest stages. The Vinca was the largest cultural group in Europe at this time. Size: 1.2" W x 1.75" H (3 cm x 4.4 cm)

The Vinca culture flourished from 5,500 (2) to 3,500 BC (4) on the territories of what is now Bosnia, Serbia, Romania and Macedonia. It got its name from the present-day village of Vinca, 10 km east of Belgrade on the Danube river, where over 150 Vinca settlements have been determined. There is no evidence of war or defenses in the townships, and it appears that the Vinca were a peaceful society combining low-level agriculture with foraging and trade. They produced the first known European examples of a 'proto'-script and were the first people in the world known to smelt copper. They existed in a similar state for almost 2,000 years, following which they appear to have dispersed around the Mediterranean and Aegean.

Cf: Idole, exhibitition catalogue Munich Staatliche Museum, 1985, p. 104 no. 49. Vinca culture, Balkan area.

Provenance: ex-Gorny & Mosch, Munich, Germany, 2008; ex-private German collection

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#112594
Condition Report: Wear, but features are clear.