Tall Ancient Bactrian Alabaster Pillar Idol

**Originally Listed At $600**

Central Asia or Asia Minor, Bactria, ca. 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE. A beautiful example of a pillar idol, hand-carved and smoothed from creamy, white and beige-banded marble. The body of the idol is highly abstract, with an elongated, very gently hourglass form. The lower end curves out gently to a slightly convex base. The upper end flares outward and has a flat base with a deep well carved into its center. Size: 3.4" W x 7.45" H (8.6 cm x 18.9 cm)

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 portray human forms and did not feel constrained by naturalism.

Provenance: The Dere Family Collection, New York, USA, assembled 1970s-2000s; ex-Khan Family Collection, New Jersey, USA, acquired in 1980s

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#141898
Condition Report: Chip from one side as shown. Interesting deposits on one side where it presumably lay in wet soil.