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"Mother goddess" figurine
Near Eastern, Anatolian
Neolithic Period
6000–5500 B.C.
Object Place: Anatolia
Medium/Technique
Terracotta
Dimensions
Height x width: 2 x 2.3 cm (13/16 x 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Brig. Gen. (ret.) and Mrs. Eric H. F. Svensson
Accession Number64.2052
CollectionsAsia, Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsSculpture
DescriptionIt was long thought that the Neolithic peoples of the Near East attributed the earth's fertility and the forces of nature to a goddess of abundance, represented by corpulent figurines like this one. However, recent scholarship indicates that the identity and function of these figurines is largely unknown.
Provenance1964, gift of Eric Helmer Frithiof Svensson (b. 1906 – d. 1970) and Esther Edith Chisholm Svensson (b. 1907 – d. 1993), Huron, SD and Evergreen, CO, to the MFA [see note 1]. (Accession Date: November 12, 1964)
NOTES:
[1] According to a letter in MFA files, the object was purchased in Turkey “several years earlier.” In 1956, Eric Svensson was stationed with the United States military in Ankara, Turkey.
NOTES:
[1] According to a letter in MFA files, the object was purchased in Turkey “several years earlier.” In 1956, Eric Svensson was stationed with the United States military in Ankara, Turkey.