Anthropomorphic Stone Idol

5th-4th Millennium B.C.
Anatolia
31 cm

Anatolia was the Asiatic portion of contemporary Turkey. Geographically, the region extended from the Bosporus and Aegean coast eastward to the borders of the former Soviet Union, Iran and Iraq.

This region was extremely plentiful in mysterious sculpture for centuries and Anatolian idols are some of the most striking creations from this time. These idols have been found in wide variety of shapes (steatopygic, anthropomorphic, schematic, etc..) and were created in a variety of materials (stone, shell, bone etc..). All idols are highly stylized or abstracted human forms. This idol in particular is a rare example of the abstract anthropomorphic type which was fashioned quite frequently during this period. Its large ring shaped body unites on top with a surmounted semi-circular disc, which is pierced with two centralized holes, representing a greatly abstracted human form with head and eyes. These types of idols were intended for religious and/or funerary rituals.